European, Asian bank stocks slide, U.S. banks gain in premarket

European, Asian bank stocks slide, U.S. banks gain in premarket

13 Mar    Finance News, PMN Business, REU

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SINGAPORE/LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) –

Bank shares in Europe and Asia slid on Monday, as the collapse of startup-focused Silicon Valley Bank continued to shake markets, although U.S. banking stocks rallied in premarket trading after authorities moved to stem the contagion.

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The U.S. government stepped in on Sunday with a series of emergency measures to shore up confidence in the banking system following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which marked the biggest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis.

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That helped U.S. banks’ shares to gain in premarket trading. Bank of America was up 3% and JPMorgan up 1.9%, but European and Asian banks were still under pressure.

Europe’s STOXX bank index was down 2%, having shed 3.78% on Friday. Earlier in the day, Japan’s Topix bank index lost 4%, while Singapore’s largest banks also lost ground, down around 1%.

HSBC’s London listed shares were down 1.45% after it said it would acquire the UK subsidiary of stricken Silicon Valley Bank for 1 pound( $1.21).

After a dramatic weekend, U.S. regulators said the bank’s customers will have access to all their deposits starting on Monday and set up a new facility to give banks access to emergency funds.

The Federal Reserve also made it easier for banks to borrow from it in emergencies.

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U.S. banks lost over $100 billion in stock market value late last week following the collapse, while European banks lost around another $50 billion in value, according to a Reuters calculation.

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“The Fed are not only addressing concerns over the bank’s asset side of the balance sheet but on the liability side, where they are essentially stepping in front of a larger bank run, which…can be devastatingly swift to bring down any institution,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

“There’s likely going to be further migrations to the stronger banks and those with a large asset base and low equity will continue to see depositors divest capital.”

SVB’s collapse comes alongside the closure of crypto-focused bank Silvergate, which last week disclosed plans to wind down operations and voluntarily liquidate, in the aftermath of FTX’s implosion last year.

U.S. state regulators on Sunday also closed New York-based Signature Bank, which became the next casualty of the banking turmoil after SVB.

(Reporting by Rae Wee in Singapore and Alun John and Amanda Cooper in London, Editing by Sam Holmes and Ed Osmond)

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