The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, called this Sunday to “remain alert” to the still “high” “uncertainty” in the financial sector, comments that occur after the recent setbacks of Western banks. The bankruptcy of California’s Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 10 raised concerns about the soundness of the banking sector in the United States and Europe. First European victim, Credit Suisse was absorbed by its compatriot UBS last Sunday for a fraction of its stock value.
Bank shares continue to fall on Friday
The acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS, piloted by the Swiss authorities, as well as recent measures by central banks to improve access to liquidity, helped to avoid panic, but failed to restore stability to the markets. “Policymakers have taken decisive action in response to risks to financial stability,” Kristalina Georgieva stressed in her speech. “These measures have somewhat eased tensions in the markets, but uncertainty is high, underscoring the need to remain vigilant.” Bank shares on European stock markets fell again on Friday.
The recent statements of Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), reaffirming the resilience of the banking system, and the cell of the French president Emmanuel Macron or the German chancellor Olaf Scholz, who are voulaient rassurantes, n’ont pas su calmer the spirits. The US president, Joe Biden, told him on Friday in Ottawa (Canada) that the “banks were doing quite well” and that he did not see anything “about to explode”. However, he acknowledged that it will take “a bit of time for things to calm down.”
Source: BFM TV
