On March 15th, Patrick Barbe, head of European investment-grade fixed income at Neuberger Berman, said that the European Central Bank is expected to consider the default of banks in California as unique to the United States because banks with balance sheets below $250 billion are not affected by the crisis. Close monitoring by regulators.
In the euro zone, where all banks are under full control, he said in a note that the ECB is expected to raise interest rates by 50 basis points at its policy meeting on Thursday.
Neuberger Berman expects the ECB to reduce the pace of rate hikes to 25 basis points after March, with a pause at 3.5% or lower, depending on the impact of SVB on economic activity. The ECB currently has a deposit rate of 2.50%.