Korean's national pension hit by Silicon Valley Bank collapse

National Pension Service office in Seodaemun District, western Seoul on March 3rd. [NEWS1]

Korea's National Pension Service (NPS) has taken a hit from the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

The NPS, manager of the world’s third-largest public pension fund, owns some 100,000 shares in the Silicon Valley Bank, which was valued at around $23.2 million as of the end of last year.

The Silicon Valley Bank Financial Group stock plunged to $106.04 on March 9 from trading at $200 late last month.

The start-up-focused bank collapsed last week after failing to raise $2.5 billion to plug a loss from the sale of assets that were affected by higher interest rates. The trouble prompted a run on the bank. Silicon Valley Bank became the biggest U.S. lender to fail in more than a decade since Washington Mutual went under in 2008.

The NPS said it is looking for ways to respond to the Silicon Valley Bank incident, according to local media reports.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]