China's C.bank Warns SVB Failure Shows Impact of Rapid Global Rate Hikes

Business

March 18th, 8:39am

Asharq Al-Awsat

A security guard stands outside of the entrance of the Silicon Valley Bank headquarters in Santa Clara, California, US, March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Brittany Hosea-Small/File Photo

A senior official at the People's Bank of China said on Saturday the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) showed how rapid monetary policy shifts were having spillover effects, state-owned newspaper Shanghai Securities News reported. Xuan Changneng, a deputy governor at the People's Bank of China told the Global Asset Management Forum in Beijing that some financial institutions had grown accustomed to running their balance sheets in an environment of low interest rate volatility and as such lacked sensitivity to short-term and large fluctuations in rates. Silicon Valley Bank's balance sheet characteristics made it more sensitive to interest rates changes and ultimately led to risk, the newspaper cited him as saying. "Based on the current situation, there is still uncertainty about whether inflation in the major developed economies will fall significantly in the short term, and continuing to maintain relatively high interest rates may also have an adverse impact on the steady operations of the banking and financial system," he said. SVB Financial Group on Friday sought protection under Chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code, days after its former unit Silicon Valley Bank was taken over by US regulators.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4219341/chinas-cbank-warns-svb-failure-shows-impact-rapid-global-rate-hikes