News of buyer for SVB boosts the LSE

Contagion fears in the banking sector weighed on equities Friday, with the FTSE 100 losing 1.2%. Investors believe that Deutsche Bank is the next bank that will be in trouble, which sent its share down 8%. For the week, the London blue-chip index managed a 1% gain.

This morning, it was up 0.5%, despite continued uncertainty about the banking sector. However, there was some relief after it was announced today that a buyer was found for most of the US business of the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank: a regional bank based in North Carolina called First Citizens.

London’s banks overperformed after the news, with Barclays up 3%, while NatWest and Lloyds were up 2%.

Today on Wall Street:

L&G chief says UK levelling up policy is failing(Financial Times)

A Tale of Two Crises — and One Is Even in France (Bloomberg)