Two American banks have just gone bankrupt and are worrying world governments about a risk of contagion. In France, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire assures us that our banks are “solid” and that they are unlikely to experience a fate similar to SVB and Signature Bank.
The bankruptcy of two American banks, SVB and Signature Bank, does not endanger French banks, assured Monday on Franceinfo the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire. “I don’t see any risk of contagion, so there is no specific alert,” said the minister.
A massive withdrawal of customers
“We have banks which are solid”, “a banking system which is solid” and “a liquidity ratio which is high”, affirmed Mr. Le Maire, adding that French banking establishments had “very diversified”. French banks “are not exposed to a single sector of activity” like Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which was almost exclusively exposed to the new technologies sector, underlined the French minister.
SVB, which could no longer cope with the massive withdrawals of its customers, was closed on Friday by the American authorities. The latter announced on Sunday a series of measures to reassure individuals and businesses about the solidity of the American banking system and will in particular guarantee the withdrawal of all deposits from SVB. They will also allow access to all the deposits of another establishment, Signature Bank, which was closed automatically by the regulator, to everyone’s surprise.