Investment Week (April 21)
“Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and other US regional banks, as well as the turmoil around Credit Suisse, the banking sector has sat on wobbly ground in investors’ minds.” Depositors have “moved into treasuries and money market funds to avoid the risk that their bank could be next to fall.” As a result, the S&P Banks Select Industry index dropped 22.5% during March.
Tags: Banking sector, Collapse, Credit Suisse, Depositors, Investors, Money market funds, Regional banks, Risk, SVB, Treasuries, Turmoil, U.S., Wobbly
Bloomberg (April 8)
“Almost $1.5 trillion of US commercial real estate debt comes due for repayment before the end of 2025. The big question facing those borrowers is who’s going to lend to them?” Morgan Stanley has estimated “office and retail property valuations could fall as much as 40% from peak to trough, increasing the risk of defaults.” Regional banks are now skittish about lending and “the wall of debt is set to get worse before it gets better.”
Tags: $1.5 trillion, 2025, Borrowers, Commercial real estate, Debt, Defaults, Morgan Stanley, Office, Peak, Regional banks, Repayment, Risk, Skittish, Trough, U.S., Valuations
Reuters (May 16)
“Years of heavy money printing by the BOJ have pushed down long-term interest rates near zero, adding to a squeeze on margins for Japan’s regional banks already suffering from a dwindling population and weak loan demand.”
Tags: BOJ, Dwindling population, Interest rates, Japan, Loan demand, Margins, Money supply, Regional banks