What happened yesterday and the first hour of today’s session has been a mirage. The financial storm is not over yet. Not much less. Santander, the leading Spanish bank, has lost more than 4% today and BBVA more than 3%. The Ibex closed the session with a fall of almost 2%.
“The problems are coming from the United States and have no basis in Spanish bank values,” reflected Antonio Castelo, an analyst at iBroker. Until mid-morning, the Ibex was in profit but it has quickly turned around and has ended up extending the losses that started last week with the rescue of the SVB.
Perhaps the market expected some further materialization from today’s meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB). There has been no regular communication, which has caused mistrust about a possible contagion to remain.
Luis Benguerel, an independent analyst and manager, has said that the ECB tends to “move” the markets little. “Only when he makes unexpected decisions”, he added.
The falls have coincided with the end of the week. “It is the quarterly expiration of futures that has been today,” warned Jaume Puig, general director of GVC Gaesco Gestión. “Banks will remain volatile, but it should be short-lived. Their balance sheets are very robust,” he added. The losses of the Ibex exceed 5% in the week.
The rest of the banks have fallen by 2.52% Bankinter; 2.12% CaixaBank and 1.74% Unicaja. Sources from one of the main Spanish banks are betting that the instability will not last more than a couple or three more days until the market recognizes the solidity of their balance sheets. Will have to see.
