The blog post from the Association of German Treasurers, entitled "SVB collapse not without consequences for treasurers", asked whether this event was a "Lehman 2.0" moment. Policymakers have stressed that the situation following the demise of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is different to the global financial crisis sparked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers more than a decade ago as banks are now better capitalised and funds, which dried up almost overnight in 2008, more easily available. Allianz, one of Europe's biggest financial firms, said that authorities were "well equipped" to deal with any liquidity crisis, unlike during" the global financial crisis. But Carsten Linker, head of the German treasurers association's risk management department, said: "The speed and scope of such crisis developments in the capital market are always remarkable." "Increased attention to potential consequential or amplifying effects is also a must," Linker was quoted as saying, referring to the interconnectedness of markets that could quickly trigger further problems in Europe. Hapag-Lloyd , the German container shipping group, said it was "observing the situation very closely", with a similar comment from German chemicals maker BASF .
"Globalization is wonderful, but it also opens avenues of
contagion. And we simply don't know yet the degree to which the
fallout can hit European banks," said Utz Greiner, a partner at
Vienna-based treasurer consultants Schwabe, Ley & Greiner.
"I would expect corporates to take precautionary measures,"
he said, suggesting they move cash deposits into money markets.
He also advised diversifying banks and organising new
undrawn credit lines, although added both can take months.
Greiner estimated that only 20-30% of German small-cap
companies were fully equipped with best corporate treasury
practices for moments of market stress.
The post from the German treasurers association said that
the country's capital and banking markets faced only "moderate"
impacts from turbulence in the wake of SVB's collapse.
"Nevertheless, treasurers should not underestimate the
current situation, even if they themselves are not directly or
indirectly affected," it wrote.
(Reporting by Tom Sims, Marta Orosz, and Patricia Weiss;
Editing by Paul Carrel, Friederike Heine and Alexander Smith)
