The banking sector continues to face great uncertainty despite various central bank interventions and the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS. Swiss bank UBS has acquired its ailing peer Credit Suisse for $3 billion. The Swiss central bank guarantees a loan of up to 100 billion Swiss francs, for an amount of more than 101 billion euros.
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde is pleased with the “swift action” of the Swiss authorities. In a statement, Lagarde said that “the actions and decisions of the Swiss authorities are of decisive importance in restoring orderly market conditions and ensuring financial stability.”
Happy central banks
The US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England (BoE) also “welcome” news of the takeover of struggling Credit Suisse. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also said she was pleased with the acquisition. “Central banks believe there is a lot of stress in the market,” says FD correspondent Lennart Zandbergen from New York.
According to Zandbergen, the Fed will now allow other banks to buy dollars at auction on a daily instead of a weekly basis. This increases the liquidity of banks. If they want it, they can get it, is the message. Zandbergen calls it a precautionary measure by which central banks build more security into the system.
American Uncertainty
There is still great uncertainty in the United States. Much of the collapsed Signature Bank was bought by the New York Commercial Bank corp. resumed. However, this small bank does not want to take over many of Signature’s loans. ‘The bank doesn’t fully trust this, the question is whether they will get rid of it.’ And in line with that, the key question arises: Will there be a buyer for Silicon Valley Bank? Because how many of those loans are considered worthless?
One uncertain factor remains ailing First Republic Bank. This was kept afloat by other banks with a joint capital injection of $30 billion, but credit rating agency S&P downgraded the bank in the meantime. “Now it’s in a state of rubbish.”
Source: BNR
Andrew Dwight is an author and economy journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of financial markets and a passion for analyzing economic trends and news. With a talent for breaking down complex economic concepts into easily understandable terms, Andrew has become a respected voice in the field of economics journalism.
