US President Joe Biden has vowed to take whatever action was needed to ensure the safety of American banking system, after the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O). Mr Biden’s efforts to reassure markets and depositors came after emergency measures by the United States to guarantee deposits at both banks failed to dispel investor worries about potential contagion to other lenders worldwide. Major U.S. banks lost more than 70 billion dollars in stock market value on Monday, bringing their total loss over the past three days to about 170 billion dollars.
Shockwaves were also felt in Europe, where the STOXX banking index closed 5.7 per cent lower. Germany’s Commerzbank fell 12.7 per cent , while Credit Suisse slid 9.6 per cent to a new record low. Swiss financial regulator FINMA said it was closely monitoring banks and insurers, while a senior European Central Bank supervisor said the board overseeing the euro zone’s biggest banks did not see any need for an emergency meeting.
