SVB collapse no threat to Swedish financial system, financial watchdog says

OSLO (Reuters) – The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and some other U.S. banks is unlikely to impact Sweden‘s financial stability, Sweden’s financial watchdog said on Monday.

The Financial Supervisory Authority (FI) said in a statement it was in close contact with Swedish insurers and pension providers to get a better understanding of their exposure to troubled U.S. banks.

“FI is also in contact with the major Swedish banks. Our assessment is that none of them have any large direct exposure of their own to the U.S. banks that have run into problems,” it said.

While the U.S. banking market was hit by a degree of turbulence, Swedish banks are regulated more tightly to ensure liquidity buffers are in place and balance sheets are protected, it added.

“We see some drama and turbulence in the U.S. banking market. Our assessment is however that the stability of the Swedish financial system is not affected by this, as it has significant resilience,” acting FI Director-General Susanna Grufman said.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Anna Ringstrom)