The risk of a “
systemic
” banking crisis in Europe is “
extremely low
” despite the recent tensions in the sector since the bankruptcy of SVB and the takeover of Credit Suisse, assured Monday the boss of the German banking federation.
“
The danger of a systemic crisis similar to that of 2008 is extremely low
,” said Christian Sewing – who is also CEO of the first German bank Deutsche Bank – during a press conference.
“
Banks in Germany and in the European Union are still extremely robust
”, and “
very well equipped with capital and liquidity
”, he added.
The recent collapse in the United States of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which is very exposed to the start-up sector, and Signature Bank, followed by the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse, has raised fears of a wider crisis in the banking sector.
European financial institutions, particularly Deutsche Bank, suffered on the stock market in the wake of these events, with investors fearing contagion.
With hindsight, the crisis "
has had no consequence on the situation of banks in Europe
", assured Christian Sewing.
This is because “
regulators have done a good job of significantly improving bank capital since the 2008 crisis
”.
Especially in Europe, where "
regulation is much more demanding than in the United States
", he said.
Regulatory constraints on banks were lowered during the Trump presidency in the United States, particularly for regional banks - such as SVB - weakening these establishments.
"
This weakness did not exist in Europe
", assured Christian Sewing.
After several weeks of anxiety, observers and the markets have regained some confidence in the sector.
Several major U.S. banks released comfortable first-quarter results on Friday, appearing to have been barely affected by the March turmoil.
And in the euro zone, the president of the ECB Christine Lagarde, launched in a fight against inflation via significant rate hikes, assured Sunday that the situation did not justify a slowdown in this policy for the moment.