Central banks around the world lined up to hail Credit Suisse’s rescue, and emphasized the strength of the lenders under their remit.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said they welcomed the Credit Suisse deal announced Sunday and stressed that the capital and liquidity of U.S. banks is strong.
“We welcome the announcements by the Swiss authorities today to support financial stability,” the officials said in a joint statement. “The capital and liquidity positions of the U.S. banking system are strong, and the U.S. financial system is resilient. We have been in close contact with our international counterparts to support their implementation.”
UBS Group AG agreed to buy Credit Suisse Group AG in a government-brokered deal aimed at containing a crisis of confidence that threatened to spread across global financial markets.
While the news of UBS’ takeover brings some relief, there’s still considerable anxiety on Wall Street heading into this week. The turmoil at Credit Suisse and the collapse of three U.S. regional lenders has fanned concern about the health of the banking industry and revived memories of the 2008 financial crisis.
The European Central Bank welcomed the “swift action” taken by Swiss authorities. The decisions taken “are instrumental for restoring orderly market conditions and ensuring financial stability,” ECB President Christine Lagarde said in a statement.
“The euro area banking sector is resilient, with strong capital and liquidity positions,” she said, adding that the ECB’s policy toolkit “is fully equipped to provide liquidity support to the euro area financial system if needed and to preserve the smooth transmission of monetary policy.”
In the U.K., the Bank of England endorsed the “comprehensive set of actions set out by the Swiss authorities today in order to support financial stability,” and reiterated that the “U.K. banking system is well capitalized and funded.”
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(With assistance from Christopher Condon and Tom Metcalf.)
