European, U.S. banking shares slump as SVB collapse fallout deepens

© Reuters

By Scott Kanowsky 

Investing.com -- European banking stocks dropped on Monday, while U.S. peers pared back early gains, reflecting fears over the stability of the broader financial system following the downfall of Silicon Valley Bank (NASDAQ:SIVB) last week.

Shares in some of the region's biggest lenders, such as Banco Santander (BME:SAN), Commerzbank (ETR:CBKG), and UniCredit (BIT:CRDI), were near the bottom of the pan-European Stoxx 600. Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) stock, in particular, slipped by almost 10% to touch a new record low.

Europe's Stoxx 600 Banks also fell by more than 5%, adding on to losses last week sparked by the turmoil surrounding SVB and putting it on pace for its largest two-day decline since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022.

Most stocks in U.S. banks were in the red in premarket trading as well despite optimism around the swift response by regulators to SVB's failure that fueled an initial rally in the sector's shares. Over the weekend, the U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation put together a bailout package that essentially protected all of SVB's depositors, including those with assets above the federally guaranteed $250,000 limit.

Regional lenders were among those hardest hit, with First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) plunging by nearly 60%, PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW) shedding over a third of its value, and Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) down over 45%. Among the major banks, shares in JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), and Bank of America Corp Pe ADR (NYSE:BAC_pe) fell.

With $212 billion in assets, SVB was the second-biggest bank to fail in U.S. history. In the wake of the collapse, analysts at Goldman Sachs said that they no longer think the Federal Reserve will increase borrowing costs when policymakers meet next week.

With these expectations swirling, the yield on benchmark German 10-year government bonds decreased to about 2.2%, down from over 2.7% before the start of the slide in SVB. Corresponding debt yields in France and Italy were also lower, while the U.S. 10-year note moved down to 3.56%.  

Elsewhere on Monday, HSBC agreed with the Bank of England to buy the U.K. operations of SVB. In a joint statement with the Treasury, the Bank said it could confirm that "all depositors' money with SVBUK is safe and secure as a result of this transaction" and that "all services will continue to operate as normal and customers should not notice any changes." London-listed shares in HSBC (LON:HSBA) dipped slightly into the red in the wake of the announcement.