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Bank Turmoil Poses $600 Billion Question for Battered Investors

  • Market value of largest lenders drops about $600 billion
  • Analysts say banks in the spotlight are unique cases

A UBS office, left, alongside a Credit Suisse office in Geneva, Switzerland.

Photographer: Jose Cendon/Bloomberg
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Markets are grappling with a $600 billion question right now. Are the half-dozen banks in the spotlight outliers or a warning sign of a wider malaise in the financial sector?

Bank investors have largely been selling first and leaving that question for later. Around $600 billion dollars of market value has evaporated from the 70 biggest US and European banks since March 6, a period that’s seen the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse Group AG receive a $54 billion lifeline from the Swiss National Bank and a $30 billion Wall Street whip-round for First Republic Bank.