The bankruptcy of the US bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the intervention of a second entity, Signature Bank, by federal regulators have fueled fears of a financial crisis that has resulted in heavy losses on the Ibex, which registers at today's session a drop of more than 3% led by the bank.
Santander and BBVA are the values that lead the 'red numbers' as their shares plummet by 6%. A storm that, in turn, has caused the Spanish index to fall below the psychological level of 9,000 points and that also drags other European stock markets: at 11:00 am Frankfurt, Paris and London lost more than 2%, while Milan left more than 4%.
Uncertainty and fear of contagion is growing despite the express intervention of the United States Federal Reserve (Fed), which has guaranteed Silicon Valley Bank (SBV) account holders that they will receive their money this Monday. It has also announced that it will make "additional funds" available to banks to help ensure that they can meet the needs "of all their depositors." The institution maintains that the capital and liquidity positions of the US banking system "are solid and the US financial system is resilient."
Analysts at Goldman Sachs, one of the most influential investment banking groups in the country, predict a momentary change of course in US monetary policy by assuring that the Fed will not raise interest rates at its meeting next week to consequence of the storm unleashed in the banking sector by the collapse of SVB. However, it is expected that the institution will continue with its plan to undertake successive increases in basic rates of 25 points in the coming months of May, June and July.
