Credit Suisse slump leads Europe bank rout as SVB fallout grows

PARIS: Credit Suisse shares hit a record low on Wednesday in a rout of European bank stocks, as investor concerns about sector stresses triggered by Silicon Valley Bank’s implosion deepened.

Regulators and financial executives around the world have sought to assuage contagion fears after tech-focused lender SVB and another US bank failed last week, but fears persist.

Credit Suisse shares dropped by as much as 30%, leading a 7% fall in the European banking index, while five-year credit default swaps (CDS) for the flagship Swiss bank hit a new record high, highlighting increasing investor concerns.

Two supervisory sources told Reuters that the European Central Bank (ECB) had contacted banks on its watch to quiz them about their exposures to Credit Suisse.

One of sources said, however, that they saw Credit Suisse’s problems as specific to that bank, rather than being systemic.

Europe’s bank index has seen more than 120 billion euros evaporate ($127 billion) in value since March 8. Among the biggest decliners on Wednesday were French lenders Societe Generale, down 12%, and BNP Paribas, off 9%.

“Markets are wild. We move from the problems of American banks to those of European banks, first of all Credit Suisse,” said Carlo Franchini, head of institutional clients at Banca Ifigest in Milan.

The Swiss National Bank declined to comment on Switzerland’s second-largest bank, after its largest investor said it could not provide Credit Suisse with more financial assistance because of regulatory constraints.

“There has to be some kind of game-changing decisive action to reverse and stabilise the situation,” Exane’s analysts said.

Credit Suisse had appealed to the Swiss National Bank and Swiss financial watchdog FINMA for a public show of support, the Financial Times reported.

Germany’s financial supervisory authority (BaFin) said it saw no direct risk of contagion and the German banking system appeared robust and capable of digesting higher interest rates.

“Our main focus is currently on some smaller banks with little surplus capital and increased interest rate risks - we are closely monitoring these institutions,” a BaFin spokesperson said in a statement.