Economy

BELGRADE - Serbian banks have no business ties with Silicon Valley Bank or any exposure to it and there is no possibility of the bank's closure having a direct or indirect impact on the Serbian banking sector, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) told Tanjug on Tuesday.

The dramatic implosion of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last week could bring the Federal Reserve's current cycle of interest rate hikes to an end far sooner than many analysts expected.

The EU must urgently lower energy prices and ease regulations to stop industry fleeing the continent, European businesses said yesterday, as Brussels prepares plans to stimulate the green economy.

The European Union is racing to make Europe more attractive for the companies that could be tempted by massive U.S. and Chinese subsidies and lower energy costs.

The Greek banking sector reacted to the huge external pressure from the closure of two lenders in the United States, as its index on the Athens Stock Exchange rebounded from a decline of almost 5% on Monday to end the session with gains of approximately 1% - even if the rest of the market failed to follow suit.

BELGRADE - Increasing by 282.9 mln euros from a month earlier, National Bank of Serbia (NBS) gross FX reserves reached 21,196.2 mln euros at end-February, their highest end-of-month level since records began in 2000.

President Joe Biden on Monday reassured Americans that their banking system is safe in the wake of the sudden collapse of SVB and the federal takeover of a second bank.

"Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe. Your deposits will be there when you need them," he said in televised remarks from the White House.

Labena, a Ljubljana-based family-run business, is launching a new platform to link start-up companies and disruptive ideas with venture capital and investment funds in medicine, biotechnology and the food and pharmaceutical industries. More than €100 million will be available, with applications expected from 14 March.

The road banks still have to travel to approach normalcy is strewn with pitfalls, despite the high profitability recorded in 2022. This is confirmed by the shift in their intention to distribute dividends by one year.

There are three main reasons for that decision, the first being banks' need to protect their profitability through stable and recurring profits.

The US administration stepped in on Sunday with a series of emergency measures to shore up confidence in the banking system after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank threatened to trigger a wider systemic crisis.

It was called Silicon Valley Bank, but its collapse is causing shockwaves around the world.