Norway's DNB loses class action case over fund charges -supreme court

Norwegian banking group DNB's asset management arm has overcharged fund investors and must pay compensation to around 180,000 customers, the country's supreme court ruled on Friday in what was billed as a test case for the industry.

DNB had denied claims by customers and by Norway's Consumer Council that it had charged customers for actively managing funds when in reality they were tracking a stock market index - a much cheaper service to provide. The supreme court's verdict upheld the decision of a lower court, which ruled in favour of the bank's customers in Norway's biggest ever class action lawsuit.

Based on the judges' guidelines, the bank will have to pay out a total of around 350 million Norwegian crowns ($37.4 million) in compensation, according to calculations by the Consumer Council, which pursued the case on behalf of investors. A DNB spokesman was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters. ($1 = 9.3633 Norwegian crowns)