Fear spreads as global markets brace for a fresh investor exit

All eyes will be on the markets today amid what is expected to be a sharp sell-off in banking stocks around the world.

In London, traders and bankers worked all weekend to figure out what exposure they had to the fallout from Silicon Valley Bank.

Fears are mounting that the biggest US bank failure since the financial crisis could lead to contagion and expose other lenders close to the tech sector.

While many investors say it’s too early to call this a “Lehman’s moment,” others fear that after years of historically low interest rates, other banks could now be in crisis as well.

Analysts expect HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays, Natwest and Standard Chartered to all sell off sharply after nearly £10bn was wiped from their share prices on Friday.

The sector sell-off weighed on the FTSE 100, which ended the day up 131.63 points at 7748.35.

Other companies under close scrutiny include companies like Molten Ventures, which had a £150 million debt facility with SVB.

Any lender with heavy technology exposure could be considered a risk, one analyst explained.

In Paris, Société Générale and BNP Paribas will be closely monitored. In the US, JP Morgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America will also struggle after last week’s turbulent trading.

A trader told the Daily Mail: ‘I think there is real fear for the first trading session of the week. This is very serious.’