Finance Minister Fernando Medina assured this Monday in Brussels that the European banking system is not comparable to the American one because it is “more reliable” and with “tougher rules”, commenting on the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). .
“The European banking system is supervised by the European Central Bank (ECB) and has stricter rules. [do que as dos EUA]much more reliable, supervision and regulation have changed a lot over the years since the financial crisis [de 2013]”, Medina said in statements before entering a meeting of eurozone (Eurogroup) finance ministers.
Medina also stressed that the SVB is a “very regional” and “very specialized” institution, underscoring the prompt response from US authorities.
For his part, European Commissioner for Economics Paolo Gentiloni stressed that after the bankruptcy of SVB there was no “direct infection” of the European banking system.
“There is no direct infection and we have to monitor the possibility of indirect exposure, but there is no significant risk yet,” the commissioner said.
The Silicon Valley Bank filed for bankruptcy on Friday and Signature Bank also closed after that, but in the meantime the US Federal Reserve announced that it will provide “additional funding” to US banks to help ensure the institutions are able to meet the needs of all of its savers.
This Monday, HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, bought the SVB branch in the United Kingdom after its collapse last week thanks to a private bailout assisted by the British government and the Bank of England, a British chief executive said.