First Republic Bank has managed to get some timely funds in place, with some of the biggest US institutions helping it out. (Photo: AFP)

Large US banks injected 30 billion USD in deposits into First Republic Bank on Thursday, swooping in to rescue the lender caught up in a widening crisis triggered by the collapse of two other mid-size US lenders over the past week.

The package came less than a day after Swiss bank Credit Suisse clinched an emergency central bank loan of up to 54 billion USD to shore up its liquidity, which went some way to calming panic about a global banking crisis.

Karen Jorritsma, head of Australian equities, RBC Capital Market ruled out a possible global financial crisis, saying balance sheets are much better than they were in 2008, and banks are better regulated.  

The European Central Bank pressed forward with a 50-basis-point rate hike on Thursday despite the financial markets turmoil, arguing that euro zone banks were resilient and that if anything, the move to higher rates should bolster their margins.

Focus now swings to the Federal Reserve's policy decision next week and whether it will stick with its aggressive interest rate hikes as it seeks to get inflation under control.

In Asia, authorities in Singapore and Australia said they were monitoring financial markets but were confident local banks were well capitalised and able to withstand major shocks.

Banking stocks globally have been battered since Silicon Valley Bank collapsed last week due to bond-related losses that piled up when interest rates surged last year, raising questions about what else might be lurking in the wider banking system.

Within days, the market turmoil had ensnared Credit Suisse, forcing it to borrow from Switzerland's central bank.

By Thursday, the spotlight whipsawed back to the United States as big banks led an effort to shore up support for First Republic, a regional lender whose shares had tumbled 70% in the last nine trading sessions.