The collapse of the US bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) does not represent a “significant risk” of contagion for the banking markets of Europe, said Monday the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni.

“The possibility of an indirect impact [del colapso del banco] It’s something we have to monitor, but right now we don’t see it as a significant risk,” the Italian official said.

I don’t think there is a real risk of contagion for the moment in Europe,” he reinforced.

According to Gentiloni, the European Union (EU) is monitoring the situation “in close contact” with the European Central Bank (ECB).

The official added that the European institutions “recognize and take note of the initiatives taken by the US authorities to avoid contagion.”

Authorities in the United States were trying Monday to assuage fears about the health of the banking system, after the bankruptcy of SVB bank forced measures to protect deposits.

In Europe, German financial regulator Bafin said Monday that the collapse of the SVB did not pose a financial threat to Germany’s mighty economy.

However, it ordered the freezing of the activities of the German branch with SVB, based in Frankfurt.

In turn, the French Minister of the Economy, Bruno the Mayor, ruled out the risk of contagion for the French economy and added that “there is no type of alert.” The official assured that the French banking system is “solid”, has a “high” liquidity ratio and a “very diversified sector of activity”.

In the afternoon, Le Maire participated in a meeting of finance ministers of the European Union (EU) in Brussels and recommended “calm” to investors, while in Paris the shares of banks General Society y BNP Paribas They were trading down.

“It is necessary to calm down, calm down, and look at reality. The reality is that the French banking system is not exposed to the SVB (…) there is no specific concern for French banks,” the minister told reporters.

There is no connection between the different situations,” he said.

The Bank of France also told AFP that French banks “are not exposed” to SVB.

Given this picture, the New York Stock Exchange opened its operations this Monday with a clear downward trend, given the specter of contagion in the situation. Meanwhile, oil prices fell in their first operations on Monday.

At the White House, the President Joe Biden He assured that Americans can “have confidence” in the soundness of the banking system.

That system, Biden said, is “secure,” and that their deposits are available “when they need them.”

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