SWEDEN - AP1, the largest Swedish buffer fund SEK221bn (€24bn) AP1 has withdrawn its delegate from the nomination committee at Carnegie bank, in protest against the proposed new chairman.

Anders Fällman, chief executive of Invik, has been proposed as the new chairman of Carnegie's board of directors and backed by the votes of its argest shareholders, including banking and asset management groups Invik, Catella and Danske Capital.

The Stockholm-based bank had been warned by the Swedish supervisor Finansinspektionen (FI) it might lose its license over "serious deficiencies" in the bank's governance and control of its operations.

The FI has imposed a SEK50m fine and called on Carnegie to replace its chief executive. The bank is also planning to replace other board members. [see earlier IPE article: Carnegie faces losing its licence]

Ossian Ekdahl, head of corporate governance at AP1 and Mats Lagerkvist, chief executive of Swedbank Robur, left the nomination committee yesterday arguing in its current situation Carnegie needed an independent chairman.

"We want an independent chairman in order to be sure that the board sees to every shareholder's needs and does not have a special agenda," Ekdahl explained to IPE.

He added the nomination committee, made up of delegates from large shareholders, had agreed on a person with a "good name" in Sweden from an entity which does not hold any shares in Carnegie but did not want to disclose the name.

However, Invik is the largest shareholder in Carnegie owning 10% "opposed to this suggestion," Ekdahl noted.

The vote on the new board members will take place in an emergency general meeting on November 21.

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