(VOVWORLD) - Moves by authorities to avert a global banking crisis appeared to have lifted market confidence on Monday as investors welcomed emergency dollar liquidity from top central banks and a historic Swiss-backed acquisition of troubled Credit Suisse by UBS Group.
 Logos of Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are seen on an office building in Zurich, Switzerland March 19, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse) |
In a package orchestrated by Swiss regulators on Sunday, UBS Group AG will pay more than 3.2 billion USD for 167-year-old Credit Suisse Group AG and assume up to 5.4 billion USD in losses.
Major central banks, faced with the risk of a fast-moving loss of confidence in the financial system, also scrambled on Sunday to bolster the flow of cash around the world with a series of coordinated currency swaps to ensure banks have the dollars needed to operate.
The Swiss banking marriage is backed by a massive government guarantee, helping prevent what would have been one of the largest banking collapses since the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008.
In a global response not seen since the height of the pandemic, the Fed said it had joined central banks in Canada, England, Japan, the EU and Switzerland in a coordinated action to enhance market liquidity. The European Central Bank vowed to support euro zone banks with loans if needed, adding the Swiss rescue of Credit Suisse was "instrumental" in restoring calm.