FirstFT: Credit Suisse receives liquidity offer from Swiss central bank

Good morning.

While markets grapple with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, banking turmoil has also sprung up in Europe. Shares of Credit Suisse fell a day after the bank said its auditor found “material weaknesses” in its financial reporting controls. We have details below.

In addition, exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui was arrested on U.S. fraud charges in connection with an investment scam that targeted thousands of his online followers.

Here’s what else to look out for today:

• Wealth Summit Asia: Join FT for the must-have one-day event for market-leading private banks, family offices and wealth managers. Register here.

• Negotiations between Iran and the UAE A senior Iranian security official will travel to the United Arab Emirates for talks in last sign of improvement between peoples.

• ECB rate decision: The European Central Bank has signaled what it intends to do raise the deposit rate by half a percent to 3%.

Today’s top news

1. The Swiss central bank said it would provide liquidity support to Credit Suisse after the lender’s shares fell 30 percent.sparking a larger sell-off of shares of European and American banks.

• Alphaville: There is no contagion between US regional banks and Swiss financial markets. except bad vibes.

2. US regulators are preparing to respond to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission urged strengthening “financial barriers” after the collapse of the Silicon Valley bank, while the Federal Reserve weighs tightening capital and liquidity rules for medium banks.

3. US Attorney’s Office indicts Chinese businessman Guo Wengui being a serial scammer who funded his lavish exile through a series of investment scams. Guo, a communist government critic who fled to New York, was arrested yesterday in connection with alleged misappropriation scheme of over $1 billion from thousands of his online followers.

4. One of Hong Kong’s top financial officials plans to visit the UK in April. in the Territory’s first ministerial-level trip to the country in three years and the badge of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a quiet reset of British-Chinese economic relations.

5. The US Secretary of Defense discussed with his Russian counterpart an American reconnaissance drone shot down over the Black Sea V rare conversation amid escalating tensions over the incident.

Big Read

Since Bob Iger’s second term as Disney chief executive began in November, one topic has dominated the conversation: what to do with Hulu, the popular but complicated streaming service in which Disney owns a majority stake. The debate, which also includes the future of the ESPN sports network, is moving on to a more serious question: What should be the Disney company?

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Schedule of the day

Chinese consumer spending returned to growth in the first two months of 2023.. The data point to early signs of a recovery, but the first comprehensive review of activity since Beijing lifted pandemic restrictions pointed to a mixed economic picture.

Take a break from the news

How is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner different from the Boeing 747, the two-story “Queen of Heaven”? As the last of the Boeing 747s enters service, Mark Vanchenaker reveals. a pilot’s perspective on how flights have evolved.

Additional contributions by Gordon Smith and Ti Zhuo..