Pension Funds Suffer Millions in Losses After Silicon Valley Bank Collapse
By The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank over the weekend has caused pension funds around the world to lose millions of dollars.[0] The Employee Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI) is among the many pension funds that had invested in the two failed banks, with just over $2.6 million invested in both. The California Public Employees Retirement System (Cal PERS) had $67 million in SVB stock and around $11 million in Signature shares.[1] And the California State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) held $11 million in SVB stock and an undetermined amount in other securities.[0]
The exact losses aren’t immediately known, but pension system spokesman Dan Minnich said the STRS Ohio held shares of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) worth $27.2 million as of last Wednesday.[2] Minnich was unable to indicate immediately how much the system had lost on its investment, prior to the collapse of the stock value.[2] The Retired Teachers Association has continued its criticism of the management of the $90 billion pension system.[2]
Federal regulators have set up an emergency lending program to protect depositors from losing their money, and President Biden has guaranteed SVB deposits, including uninsured amounts, so customers could have access to their money.[3] North Carolina’s pension fund has a total of $18 million in securities tied to the two failed banks.[4]
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank marked the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history in terms of assets, and has sparked legal action from shareholders alleging fraud and debate over further economic ramifications and what the response of the government should be.[5] Critics have been harshly criticizing Becker and other SVB executives for having sold off $84 million worth of the bank's stock in the past two years, at a time when more risky operations were being engaged in.[2]
0. “Pensions Lose Millions After Bank Collapse” Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.newsweek.com/pensions-lose-millions-after-svb-collapse-1787476
1. “Colorado's public pension fund loses millions in SVB collapse – Denver Business Journal” Denver Business Journal , 15 Mar. 2023, https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2023/03/15/colorado-pera-silicon-valley-bank-losses.html
2. “Ohio State Teachers Retirement System Had Massive Investment in Silicon Valley Bank” Cleveland Scene, 15 Mar. 2023, https://www.clevescene.com/news/ohio-state-teachers-retirement-system-had-massive-investment-in-silicon-valley-bank-41599459
3. “RI pension fund poised to lose $2.5 million after Silicon Valley Bank collapse” WPRI.com, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.wpri.com/target-12/ri-pension-fund-poised-to-lose-2-5-million-after-silicon-valley-bank-collapse
4. “NC pension plan caught up in Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank shutdowns” WRAL TechWire, 15 Mar. 2023, https://wraltechwire.com/2023/03/15/nc-pension-plan-caught-up-in-silicon-valley-bank-signature-bank-shutdowns/
5. “Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund invested in now-collapsed Silicon Valley Bank” Illinois Policy, 15 Mar. 2023, https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-municipal-retirement-fund-invested-in-now-collapsed-silicon-valley-bank
