An investor in PVTB shares filed a lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of those who purchased PrivateBancorp (PVTB) publicly traded common stock between November 2, 2007 and October 23, 2009 against PrivateBancorp over alleged violations of Federal Securities Laws. Meanwhile an investigation on behalf of current long term investors in PrivateBancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PVTB) shares over possible breaches of fiduciary duty by certain directors and officers at PrivateBancorp was announced.

The investigation by a law firm on behalf of current long term investors in stock of PrivateBancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PVTB) concerns whether certain current and/or former officers and members of PrivateBancorps board of directors and executive officers can be held liable in connection with the alleged Securities Laws violations in the lawsuit by investors who purchased PVTB stock between November 2, 2007 and October 23, 2009. According
According to the complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois the plaintiff alleges that Chicago based PrivateBancorp, certain of its senior executives and directors, the underwriters of PrivateBancorp's public offerings in June 2008 and May 2009 violated Federal Securities Laws by engaging in improper behavior and by issuing materially false and misleading statements regarding PrivateBancorp's business and financial results that harmed the Company's investors. PrivateBancorp, Inc. reported in 2008 $92.94million Net Loss and in 2009 $30.06million Net Loss.
Specifically, the complaint alleges that the defendants misrepresented the PrivateBancorp's Strategic Growth and Transformation Plan which led PrivateBancorp to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in commercial and industrial loans that were high risk, and that PrivateBancorp misrepresented the quality of its residential loan portfolio, which was suffering severe deterioration. The plaintiff alleges that as a result of defendants' false statements, PrivateBancorp's stock traded at artificially inflated prices between November 2, 2007 and October 23, 2009 and while PrivateBancorp's stock was artificially inflated, PrivateBancorp conducted two public offerings one in June 2008 and one in May 2009, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in net proceeds to PrivateBancorp.
On October 26, 2009, before the market open PrivateBancorp announced its third quarter 2009 earnings results.
The plaintiff alleges that despite having written off in excess of $100 million in bad loans in January 2009, PrivateBancorp announced that it held almost $400 million in nonperforming loans as of the third quarter 2009. PrivateBancorp further disclosed that its elevated levels of nonperforming loans were originated under the PrivateBancorps Strategic Growth and Transformation Plan.
Shares of PrivateBancorp, Inc. (Public, NASDAQ:PVTB) traded in 2006 as high as over $46 per share. PVTB shares lost value in 2007 to $25.57 per share in August 2007. PVTB share regained value over the next two months and traded in the end of October 2007 at almost $35 per share. Then November 2007 PVTB shares lost again value to roughly $26 per share. Between November 2007 and October 2009 PVTB shares traded at high as $42 per share in September 2008 and as low as $9.13 per share on October 23, 2010. Recently PVTB shares traded at $11.81 per share, down from its current 52weekHigh of $19.93 per share.