Banking

The governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), Constantinos Herodotou, said on Wednesday there is concern in the markets that problems with some European banks could evolve into something bigger. He added however that the European Central Bank (ECB) was reassuring about the health of the European banking system.

The position of Greek banks in the face of the international banking crisis remains strong, Goldman Sachs points out, answering questions from its clients about the sector's capital, liquidity and investment portfolio.

Cyprus Finance Minister Makis Keravnos has urged banks to restructure loans, maintain low lending rates and bank charges, and increase deposit rates in light of continued basic rate hikes by central banks. He warned that, otherwise, the government "would think differently of their intentions."

The Federal Reserve extended its year-long fight against high inflation on March 22 by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point despite concerns that higher borrowing rates could worsen the turmoil that has gripped the banking system.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the serious problems facing Credit Suisse will not have wider consequences for the European banking system, according to Greek bankers.

Do the almost simultaneous bank crises on the opposite sides of the Atlantic imply a disaster like the Lehman Brothers collapse?

Maybe it was not necessary for the Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse debacles to come along for the winds of uncertainty to blow in the global economy.

They had already been stirred by the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and a rise in inflation in the eurozone.

UBS also took up to $5.4 billion (about 5.05 billion euros) in losses, based on a plan by Swiss authorities to avoid further turmoil in the banking market.
The agreement also includes 108 billion dollars of aid (about 101 billion euros) for the liquidity of UBS and Credit Suisse, which will be paid by the Swiss Central Bank.

Against the backdrop of this month's global financial system turmoil, Greek banks announced results that show that the chapter of losses from the management of bad loans has been closed for good and they are now focusing on the qualitative improvement of their profitability.

A group of mid-sized US banks has called on US federal regulators to guarantee all their customers' deposits for 2 years, even if they are above the guaranteed deposit limit of up to 250,000 dollars. The aim is to avoid the "phenomenon of contagion" after the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), reports "Bloomberg", quoted by AFP and BTA.