FirstFT: Credit Suisse gets liquidity offer from Swiss central bank

Good morning.

As markets cope with the collapse of Silicon Valley Financial institution, turmoil within the banking sector has additionally popped up in Europe. Credit score Suisse shares plunged a day after the financial institution revealed that its auditor had recognized “materials weaknesses” in its monetary reporting controls. Now we have the small print beneath.

Individually, the exiled Chinese language businessman Guo Wengui has been arrested on US fraud costs over an funding rip-off focusing on hundreds of his on-line followers.

Right here’s what else to maintain tabs on at the moment:

• Wealth Summit Asia: Be part of the FT for a must-attend, one-day occasion for market-leading personal banks, household workplaces and wealth managers. Register here.

• Iran-UAE talks Iran’s high safety official will journey to the United Arab Emirates for talks within the latest sign of improving relations between the nations.

• ECB fee determination: The European Central Financial institution has made clear it intends to raise its deposit rate by half a share level to three per cent.

At the moment’s high information

1. The Swiss central financial institution mentioned it could present a liquidity backstop to Credit score Suisse after the lender’s shares cratered as a lot as 30 per cent, sparking a broader sell-off in European and US bank stocks.

• Alphaville: There’s no contagion between US regional banks and Switzerland’s monetary markets, besides bad vibes.

2. US regulators are making ready to answer collapse of Silicon Valley Financial institution. The chair of the US Securities and Alternate Fee has known as for a strengthening of “the guardrails of finance” within the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Financial institution, whereas the Federal Reserve is weighing tougher rules on capital and liquidity for midsized banks.

3. US prosecutors have charged Chinese language businessman Guo Wengui with being a serial fraudster who funded his lavish exile by a string of funding scams. Guo, a critic of the Communist authorities who fled to New York, was arrested yesterday in reference to an alleged scheme to misappropriate more than $1bn from hundreds of his on-line followers.

4. One in all Hong Kong’s most senior finance officers is planning to go to the UK in April within the territory’s first ministerial-level journey to the nation in three years and an indication of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s quiet reset of UK-China economic relations.

5. The US defence secretary mentioned the downing of a US surveillance drone over the Black Sea together with his Russian counterpart in a rare conversation amid escalating tensions over the incident.

The Huge Learn

Since Bob Iger’s second time period as Disney chief government started in November, one subject has dominated conversations: what to do with Hulu, the favored however sophisticated streaming service by which Disney owns a majority stake. The talk, which additionally consists of the way forward for the ESPN sports activities community, will get to an even bigger query: what kind of company should Disney be?

We’re additionally studying . . . 

Chart of the day

China’s shopper spending returned to growth in the first two months of 2023. Information factors to an early signal of a restoration, however the first complete overview of exercise since Beijing ended its pandemic restrictions pointed to a combined financial image.

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Take a break from the information

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Further contributions by Gordon Smith and Tee Zhuo.