After the shocks of the last few days, the US authorities took immediate measures to boost confidence in the banking system. Depositors of SVB Financial and the Signature Bank of New York, which was closed on Sunday amid similar fears of systemic contagion, will have full access to its deposits as part of the array of measures authorities approved over the weekend.
The Treasury labeled both SVB and Signature as systemic risks and gave it the power to resolve both institutions in what it said would “fully protect all depositors”. The FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund is used to protect depositors, many of whom were uninsured due to the $250,000 limit on guaranteed deposits.
Along with this measure, the Federal Reserve also said it is launching a new term bank funding program aimed at protecting institutions hit by the market instability caused by the SVB’s bankruptcy. A joint statement from the various regulators involved said none of the new plans will involve bailouts or costs to taxpayers. Shareholders and some unsecured creditors are not protected and lose all of their investments.
But the performance It is not enough to allay fears of contagionat least with regard to the banks of the IBEX 35. As was the case last Friday, the banks became the main brakes for the Spanish index, with falls of more than 3% in some cases.
Shares in Banco Sabadell were the hardest hit this morning, falling 4.57% to €1.17 after falling 5.1% last Friday. That said, it’s still up 35% so far this year.
The discounts at Banco Santander of up to 3.46 euros are not much more moderate at 3.95%. Last Friday, stocks fell 4.20%, meaning they flew nearly $6,000 million in market cap in just two sessions. The value in the cumulative value for the year is currently increasing by 25.5%.
Unicaja Banco fell 3.20% while Bankinter lost 3.18%. BBVA fell 2.85% to 6.84 euros, while Caixabank, like last Friday, was the one that weathered the situation best, falling 2.38% to 3.89 euros.
Despite the sharp declines, analysts seem inclined to call for calm at the moment and even use this scenario to buy stocks that should benefit from the ECB’s rate hikes.