Category: Lead

The 2023 Population and Housing Census earlier scheduled for March 29 has been shifted to May 2023.

Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed announced this after the Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday.

He said the decision to reschedule was necessitated by last week’s decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reschedule the Governorship and Houses of Assembly elections to March 18.

He also said the Council approved N2.8 billion for the National Population Commission (NPC) to procure some software to be used for the conduct of the census.

Details Shortly…

Ten persons have been reported killed in a fresh attack on Langson, another community of Zango’s Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The Nation reports 17 persons were confirmed killed in attacks and counter attacks that took place at Ungwan Wakili and neighboring communities of the same local government area last weekend.

Chairman of the local government, Francis Sani confirmed the latest attack to journalists in Kaduna. 

The Nation gathered that the attackers invaded the community around 9pm on Tuesday, shooting sporadically to scare residents.

It was also learnt the attackers looted a shop in the area before they were repelled by police operatives. 

Read Also: I will expose former governors who looted Kaduna dry, says El-Rufai

The Council chairman however appealed for calm and urged government to deploy more security personnel to the area to stop the persistent attacks. 

National President, Atyap Community Development Association (ACDA), Mr. Sam Achie passed a vote of no confidence on a section of the security operatives deployed to the area to protect lives and property.

Achie lamented the silence of the State Government to the attacks in the area, urging the government to match words with action by arresting the perpetrators.

The ACDA National President also commended the Mopol in Langson community who were said to have repelled the attackers. 

He called on the people to continue to remain on alert to protect their communities and property against the oppressors who he said are bent on taking their ancestral land.

President Muhammadu Buhari has sworn in seven reappointed board members for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other related offences (ICPC).

The ceremony, which took place in the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja, was conducted before the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by the President.

Read Also: CBN okays N1,000, N500 old notes after Buhari’s rebuke

The members are: Justice Adamu Bello (retd) Katsina State;  Hannatu Mohammed (Jigawa State;, Olubukola Balogun (Lagos State) and Obiora Igwedibia (Anambra State).

Others are Dr. Abdullahi Saidu (Niger State);  Yahaya Umar Dauda (Nasarawa State) and Grace Chinda (Rivers State).

Details Shortly…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed reports that it appointed a former Commissioner in Lagos State as its Head of ICT.

In a statement by the National Commissioner, Information and Voter Education, Barrister Festus Okoye, the Commission said all its ICT staff are career officers who have never held political appointments.

Okoye said the statement credited to a Chieftain of the PDP in Lagos state, Chief Olabode George was not true as the name Femi Odubiyi does not exist on the list of it’s ICT staff.

Read Also: Bode George seeks peaceful poll in Lagos

The statement reads: “The attention of the Commission has been drawn to a widely publicised report attributed to a well known Lagos politician Chief Olabode George that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appointed one Femi Odubiyi, a former Commissioner in Lagos State and an associate of a prominent politician, as its Head of ICT. Nothing can be further from the truth.

“To set the record straight, the name “Femi Odubiyi” does not even exist within our ICT Department at the INEC headquarters in Abuja or any State office of the Commission.

“Our ICT staff are career officers of the Commission. None has held any political appointment in any State of the Federation. 

“The public is urged to disregard the story. Its promoter should have been circumspect so as not to be seen as a purveyor of fake news.”

• Branches expect more allocation from CBN •Don’t reject notes, say governors

Many Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief yesterday as banks started paying the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes to customers.

It followed Monday’s directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to banks to comply with the March 3 judgment of the Supreme Court.

The court held that the old N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes would remain legal tender until December 31 and co-exist with the new notes.

Many of the banks limited payments over-the-counter to N20,000 because they had limited cash allocations from the CBN.

There were long queues at different branches.

Many Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), which were abandoned for weeks due to cash scarcity, suddenly became a beehive of activities as customers made cash withdrawals to meet their financial needs.

But some ATMs were also empty.

Many banks in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had no cash.

They said the CBN had not released money to meet demands, but hoped the situation will change in the coming days.

Skye Bank at Wuse Zone 7 paid their customers in old notes over the counter, but only a fraction of what the customers asked for.

At United Bank for Africa (UBA), Area 3, customers were paid N10,000 each over the counter.

At Polaris Bank, a teller said: “We started paying N5,000 each to our customers in the morning, but the money we had in the vault was exhausted at about noon. There will be more money as from Friday”.

Traders and cab drivers in Abuja were reluctant to accept the old notes.

Mixed tales in Lagos

At the GTBank, Ilupeju branch in Lagos, the ATMs dispensed N5,000 to customers and paid N10,000 across the counter.

Huge stacks of old naira notes were seen at the back of the counter, from where the bank tellers paid customers.

Many of the bank customers said it was better to have the old notes than to be without cash.

Michael Oseni, a Lagos-based entrepreneur, said the resumption of payment by the banks will help people to meet their financial obligations to their families and business associates.

The Wema Bank branch at Town Planning Way, Lagos, was paying customers N4,000 through the ATMs for accounts not domiciled at the bank.

The bank’s customers got N20,000 from the ATMs in two withdrawals of N10,000 each.

At the Marina axis of Lagos, many customers trooped to First Bank headquarters to make cash withdrawals across the counter and ATMs. 

Many of them were called into the branch in batches to carry out their transactions.

Some banks’ branches said they were yet to get cash supplies from their headquarters.

“We will start payment once we get access to cash. For now, we are only carrying out e-payment transactions,” a teller in one of the banks said.

A bank customer, Mrs Gift Amomo, said the cash crunch persisted despite the CBN directive

Amono said: “I was told there was no cash. Both the old and new Naira notes were not available.”

A PoS operator at Isolo, Mrs Funmi Gbadamosi, said she was unable to collect cash from banks.

“There are still queues at the banks and many of them were not paying yet, but we have started collecting the old Naira notes,” she said.

Taiye Aibor, a trader at Ipaja Market, said businesses had started collecting the old notes after the CBN’s directive.

Many residents of Lagos, especially traders, freely accepted the old notes.

People massed at the entrances of some of the banks in Iyana-Ipaja, Ikotun, Ikeja, Sango-Ota, Oshodi and other areas of the state with the hope to get cash.

However, a bank official, who asked not to be named, claimed that they had yet to receive both the old and new notes.  

The official said: “We do not have money to give our customers. That is why we are not paying cash.

“We are hopeful that we will get money from the CBN, following the directive.”

Bayelsa residents accept old notes

Many residents of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, accepted the old naira notes.

A restaurateur, who gave her name only as Ebilade, said her business had almost crumbled.

She said: “The new currency scarcity coupled with the rejection of old naira notes has dealt a big blow to my restaurant business.”

A Point of Sales (POS) operator, Faith Ibalagha, advised the government to always be sensitive to the plight of the masses.

Banks comply in Rivers 

Banks in Rivers paid between N5,000 and N20,000 to their customers yesterday.

Customers who trooped to the banking halls and ATM on Ikwerre Road were able to make withdrawals.

First Bank paid a maximum of N20,000 to each customer while Union Bank paid N5,000.

Read Also: CBN okays N1,000, N500 old notes after Buhari’s rebuke

However, some traders in Diobu were still reluctant to accept the old notes.

“I will begin to accept the old naira notes when I see a person that successfully deposited the money in a bank,” a trader said.

Rejections in Akwa Ibom 

Some Akwa Ibom State residents rejected the old notes.

There was a high level of scepticism among business owners and transporters.

Uko Eshiett, a commercial tricycle rider, said he would not accept the old Naira notes until either President Muhammadu Buhari or the CBN governor speaks on the matter.

Mixed reaction in Oyo 

The pronouncement by the CBN generated mixed reactions from traders and commuters in Ibadan, the Oyo State, as some expressed uncertainty.

But many banks across the capital city dispensed the old naira notes.

Banks comply in Ebonyi 

In Ebonyi, banks started dispensing the old naira notes to the relief of residents who have been queueing up at banks for months.

Ogun residents lament 

Many residents of Ogun State returned home disappointed as they could not make withdrawals.

Some who made it to the banks as of 6.3am were able to withdraw between N5,000 and N10,000 in some cases, but others returned home empty after standing in the queue for hours without success.

Banks at Lalibu Street, Okelewo – Abeokuta’s Central Business District (ACBD) – ran out of cash as of 10.30 am.

No cash in Benue ATMs 

ATMs in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, had no cash.

A GTBank branch along New Otukpo Road paid N5,000 to customers, who lamented that it was inadequate to take care of their family needs.

Most of the business outfits rejected the old naira notes, claiming they were not aware of the CBN directives.

Relief in Kaduna 

In Kaduna, it was a big relief for residents, as some banks started paying the old N500 and N1,000 notes to customers.

Traders across the major markets within the state capital accepted the old notes.

Scarcity in Abia 

Few banks operating in both Aba, the commercial nerve, and Umuahia, the Abia State capital, paid the old notes.

Some customers who came to deposit money into their accounts did so with the CBN-generated code.

Long queues were seen in some of the bank branches.

Transport companies and traders in major markets and streets of Aba and Umuahia were sceptical about accepting the old notes.

According to them, the CBN should also come out to address the issue of generating codes before making deposits.

Edo residents relieved 

Banks and operators of Point of Sale (PoS) in Benin and its environs in Edo State heaved a sigh of relief following the CBN directive.

However, customers of a bank on Akpakpava Road, Benin, Charles Raymond and Roseline Ehigiator, said they were not paid at the counter.

ATM points were also not loaded either with old or new notes.

Uneasy relief in Kano 

Banks in Kano paid the old N1,000 and N500 naira notes to customers, with withdrawals of up to N20,000.

But, ATMs were not dispensing cash.

It was gathered the old notes are not good enough to be dispensed via the ATM terminals.

Boom in Osun  

Businesses in Osun State boomed as old naira notes were used for transactions.

Banks across the state, especially in Osogbo, paid the old notes over the counter.

Markets, petrol filling stations, commercial vehicles, malls and supermarkets complied with the directive.

Plateau residents paid 

Jos, Plateau State residents who were in the banks early yesterday were paid old notes across the counters. But the ATMs did not dispense cash.

They called on the CBN to release enough cash to the banks to ease the hardship occasioned by naira scarcity.

But some residents were still reluctant to accept the old notes.

A pensioner, Alfred Busari, said: “The CBN should mount extensive public enlightenment campaign just as it did when the new naira notes were introduced.”

“It was the CBN that warned the public to reject the old naira notes and the same CBN said we should go back and accept the old notes.

“They have to embark on a massive campaign to sensitise the people, if not in the village where I come from, they will continue to reject the old notes.”

Banks in Adamawa comply 

Banks in Adamawa State paid and accepted the old notes.

At the branches visited by The Nation in Yola, customers expressed joy that they could for the first time in months enter banking halls and come out with reasonable sums.

But at one of the branches, an official said they had no cash to pay  

“We are set to receive the old notes from anyone desiring to make a deposit, although we find that people don’t have the cash to bring. On our part too, we have no cash to give out right now,” the official added.  

Like in Jos, some Yola traders and transporters did not accept the N500 and N1,000 old notes in the early hours of yesterday.

Cash crunch bites harder in Katsina  

Despite the CBN directive cash crunch persisted in Katsina as many banks in the state did not dispense cash.

Celestine Nzekwe, a retailer in Katsina Central Market, said: “Katsina has been left out in the cold with no cash even at the banks, ATM and PoS terminals. There is no cash anywhere.”

Rejections in Imo 

Bank customers in Owerri, Imo State rejected the old notes.

At some of the banks along Douglas, Bank and Wetheral roads, customers said the bank officials openly told those that might want to return their withdrawn old currencies to first generate codes from the CBN before returning them.

One of them, Matthew Onyekwere, said: “They told us not to return the old naira notes after collecting them. They said we must first get a code from the CBN before they could accept it back from us.

“We are afraid to collect the old notes because we see it as a Herculean task to go to CBN to get a code that would enable them (banks) to accept back the old notes from us.”

Another customer, who rejected the notes from his bank, said: “When we go to the market to buy foodstuffs, the market men and women are not accepting the old notes.”

Sule appeals to Nasarawa citizens

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, urged the people to accept the old notes in line with the CBN directive.

He made the call in Lafia shortly after meeting with bank managers at the Government House.

The governor said farmers suffered losses because they could not transport their produce to the market due to a lack of cash.

“I am calling on our people to continue to accept the old notes because they are still legal tender and valid until December,” Sule said.

Kwara governor: rejection of old notes criminal 

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq warned that rejection of the old notes constituted a criminal offence.

He, therefore, advised residents of the state, especially traders, to accept and spend the old and new currencies.   

The governor said this in a statement by his spokesman, Rafiu Ajakaye.

He described the rejection of the old notes as a serious crime under the law.

AbdulRazaq said: “As per the judgment of the Supreme Court and the latest circular of the CBN, the old naira notes still remain a legal tender in the country.

“Banks are now officially issuing the old Naira notes. I, therefore, urge all residents of our state to spend and receive both the old and the new Naira notes.

“Citizens are to note that rejection of the legal tender, such as the old Naira note, is a serious crime under our law.

“I also implore the banks to kindly extend every support within their powers to our people to ease all their transactions as things return to normal.”    

Victory for Nigerians, says Matawalle 

AbdulRazaq’s counterpart in Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, said CBN’s compliance with the Supreme Court order was a victory for Nigerians.

He stated this in a statement by Zailani Bappa, his special adviser on Public Enlightenment, Media and Communications. 

According to Bappa, the governor believes that the court procedure which culminated in the reversal of CBN’s earlier implementation of the cashless policy was for the good of the country’s micro-economy and the wellbeing of the common man.

He said: “Those who accused us of going to court for the sake of the Presidential elections, even as Nigerians groaned under the policy implementation, are now proven wrong as we did not relent until we succeeded in achieving our demand to its logical conclusion.

“This is way after we have won the said presidential election.

“All Nigerians can now heave a sigh of relief on this matter, and we expect more cash to be in circulation to ease our pains, while those who were unable to replace their old naira notes with the scarce new notes will no longer lose their hard-earned money.”  

•Story by Nduka Chiejina, Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja; Collins Nweze, Oyebola Owolabi, Lagos; Bisi Olaniyi, Benin; Kolade Adeyemi, Jos; Onimisi Alao, Yola; Augustine Okezie, Katsina; Chris Njoku, Owerri; Simon Utebor, Yenagoa; Toba Adedeji, Osogbo; Fanen Ihyongo, Kano; AbdulGafar Alabelewe, Kaduna; Linus Oota, Lafia; Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi; Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta; Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki; Yinka Adeniran, Ibadan; Bassey Anthony, Uyo and Rosemary Nwisi, Port Harcourt.

• Fed Govt promises to clear backlogs

FOREIGN airlines’ funds trapped in Nigeria has risen to $743 million from $662 million, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said yesterday.

The blocked revenue, which stood at $549 million in December, rose to $662 million in January.

 The updated amount is contained in a letter titled: “Special appeal on airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria” signed by the Area Manager of West and Central Africa, Dr. Samson Fatokun.

It was addressed to Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika.

According to the letter dated March 14, the IATA and the global airline community urged the minister to intervene to resolve the issue.

During a visit to the minister in Abuja yesterday, the IATA stated that Nigeria has the highest amount of the trapped funds in the world.

It also noted that some airlines have resolved to cut their flights to mitigate the impact of the backlog of their funds.

According to the association, a reduction in the frequency of flights or reduction in available seats sold to Nigeria could impact negatively on businesses and in turn, trigger job loss.

It urged Sirika to use his office and ensure clearance of the backlog before the end of the President Muahammadu Buhari administration.

The letter reads: “The International Air Transport Associaton (IATA) presents its compliments to the Ministry of Aviation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We would like to thank you for your continuous support for the growth of air transport in Nigeria and for the actualization of its role as catalyst for the growth of the Nigerian economy.

“IATA and the global airline community would like to appeal for your special intervention for the resolution of airlines blocked funds issue in Nigeria.

“For over a year, Nigeria has been the country with the highest amount of airline blocked funds in the world. Please find attached the comparative table of airlines’ blocked funds by country.

“Moreover, as of January 2023, airlines blocked funds in Nigeria have increased to $743,721,092 from $662m in January 2023 and $549m in December 2022.”

It said the blocked funds, have, among other things, affected Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).

The letter reads: “The impact includes; strong message against FDI. The increasing backlog of international airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria sends a strong message against Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nigeria.

“Potential investors are reading from the plight of the airlines that they would not be able to repatriate their funds from Nigeria, even at this moment when Nigeria is expecting investments in the concession of some of its prominent airports.

“The image of a country that does not respect contractual obligations; foreign airlines fly into Nigeria within the legal framework of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) signed between their countries and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“It is agreed in those BASAs that Nigeria will facilitate the repatriation of the funds of the other party’s airline. Nigeria flaunts this contractual obligation by not facilitating enough the repatriation of airlines’ funds.

“Reduced connectivity to and from Nigeria and high-ticket prices To mitigate the increasing backlog of their funds in Nigeria and its impact on their cash flow, some airlines have decided to reduce the number of their frequencies, or the number of seats made available for sale in the Nigerian market.”

On the fund’s impact on jobs, it stated: “The downstream sector of the aviation industry (travel agencies, freight forwarders, ground handling companies relies heavily on airlines’ capacity to grow or remain in business.

“Should the airlines be compelled to further reduce their capacity, those businesses would be negatively impacted, leading to job losses. The negative indirect impact will also affect ground transportation (taxi, car hire), hotels, and restaurants output.”

Sirika, who told his guests that the issue was beyond his ministry, however promised to pass the request to the appropriate quarters.

He said: “The government is concerned especially the ministry of aviation. I am sure you are all aware that this is not a problem that is currently within the leverage of the ministry of aviation, if it were to be here, it would be resolved today.

“Unfortunately, it sits somewhere else more with the Central Bank of Nigeria who in turns keeps saying it is between them and the commercial banks.

“Whatever the case maybe we are very concerned, we will do the very best we can to resolve this matter soon. We will begin from today, we have been doing the best we can because we understand the importance of the services being provided and also the legitimacy of the request because it is something that is backed by the bilateral and multi-lateral agreements and something that is the law itself, so there is no reason why it should continue to remain.

“Nigeria, when we came in 2015, we saw two things that happened immediately, the price of crude that was $140 per barrel went down as low as $28 per barrel at some point and that is the single source of income for the country.”

He noted that a directive given to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to develop mechanisms to ensure that such funds are not blocked was one of the measures already taken by the Buhari administration.

 ”While we are doing our best, we will like to call on some of you to be very considerate when it comes to issues of this kind.

“Like it is said, it is really difficult when you do business and wait a year to get the income, it is honestly unacceptable. We will do the best that we can to push the CBN and I will also take the matter all the way to the presidency to ensure that is being attended to.”

• 28 governorship, 993 Assembly seats up for grabs

Those planning to foment trouble before, during and after Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections got an advice from the National Security Adviser, Gen. Babagana Monguno – they should perish the thought.

The NSA said it will be in their interest not to disrupt public peace.

Gen. Monguno spoke just as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, urged parties and political stakeholders to rein in their supporters.

“Election is simply a contest and not a war,” Yakubu said. The duo spoke yesterday at a meeting of the Inter Agency Consultative Committee (IPAC) on Election Security at the INEC’s Abuja headquarters.

Gen. Monguno said: “While commending the efforts of the various political parties and the individuals that participated in the last election, especially those that call for peace and calm, I want to urge the same individuals, especially at the state levels, to demonstrate the same level of patriotism and discipline by calling on their supporters to conduct themselves in a manner that is congruent with the expectations of the larger Nigeria society.

“Of course, there are channels for laying complaints and addressing these complains. But for the security agencies, a lot has been done and we do not envisage any situation that will be apocalyptic in the next few days.

“That does not mean we should do away with our state of readiness. We must comply with the rules while allowing everyone to exercise their fundamental right s citizens of this country. What we do not want is for anybody to preempt the situation and take laws into their own hands.

“I want to be very clear on this. We are going to give maximum support to all entities involved in this process and we are calling on the political bigwigs to call their supporters to order.

“Anybody who is itching to undermine this process should please think again because it is not in the person’s interest and not in the interest of the country. We will continue to work round the clock and all the crisis centres will be open”.

The National Security Adviser acknowledged the fact that Saturday’s election will come with its own dynamics, saying “of course, the elections we are going into on Saturday are going to be more complicated.

“We are going to have 1021 constituencies, meaning that we are going to have more people voting, more collation centres and obviously, the dynamics will be much more different from the elections we just concluded.”

The INEC chairman said the meeting was called to review security arrangements for the Presidential and National Assembly elections as well as preparations for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections holding on Saturday 18th March 2023.

He said: “The governorship elections will hold in 28 States of the Federation. As you are aware, governorship elections in eight States (Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun States) are held off-cycle and therefore not conducted during the General Election.

“However, elections will be conducted for all the 993 state constituencies nationwide. Our state offices have made available to the Nigeria Police Force, being the lead agency in election security, the delimitation details for both the Governorship and State Assembly elections, including locations of Polling Units and Collation Centres.

“On that basis, we expect a coordinated deployment plan in synergy with other security, intelligence, law enforcement and safety agencies.

“Only yesterday, the Commission held a virtual meeting with all the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in which we reviewed preparations for the State elections. In addition to election technology, logistics and a host of other issues, security was also discussed. We will present some of the issues at this meeting for further discussion and, most importantly, appropriate action.

“The governorship and State Assembly elections this weekend, involves more constituencies than the national elections held about three weeks ago. Unlike the last elections involving 470 constituencies ( one Presidential, 109 senatorial districts and 360 House of Representatives seats), the state elections will involve 1,021 constituencies (28 governorship and 993 state Assembly seats).

“There will also be more candidates involved and more collation centres to protect. They are also local elections involving keen contests.

“It is therefore important for parties and candidates to speak to their agents and supporters to see the elections as a contest and not war. They should refrain from acts of violence that may mar the elections or compromise the security of our personnel, observers, the media and service providers.

“The Commission is encouraged by the directive to State Commands by the Inspector-General of Police to handle all cases of electoral offences expeditiously. We look forward to receiving the case files. We will immediately set up a legal team to handle such cases in earnest.”

More than $100 billion has been wiped off in banks’ value in the United States (U.S.), following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

The collapse of the bank has been sending shockwaves throughout Wall St.

Trading was temporarily halted in dozens of regional banks yesterday as shares fell by up to 75 per cent, despite Joe Biden’s assurances that ‘U.S. banking is safe.’

Major U.S. banks were also affected by the crash, spreading fear throughout the market, with Wells Fargo plummeting 7.5 per cent, Bank of America falling 7.4 per cent, Citigroup plunging 5.8 per cent and JP Morgan down 2.7 per cent.

Last Friday, federal regulators took over the Santa Clara, California-based institution after a series of massive withdrawals over the course of 48 hours creating a bank run.

As part of the fallout, another financial institution in New York, Signature Bank, was shut down two days later by authorities who feared keeping the bank open could threaten the stability of the financial system.

But, “Dr. Doom” economist Nouriel Roubini warned that the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) poses a risk of “global contagion.”

Roubini was a senior adviser to Treasury Department Undersecretary for International Affairs, Timothy Geithner, during the Obama administration.

He earned his nickname for predicting the 2008 financial crisis.

“There is, at least, one financial institution in Europe that has been historically under-capitalised, have had problems of recapitalising, might have some bad assets, some exposures to long-term securities and unrealised losses,” Roubini told Newsweek on Monday. 

“If something were to happen with this institution…that will be much more systemically important — we’re speaking about institutions with trillions of dollars of assets, not $400 billion like SVB,” he said.

The recent chaos surrounding SVB’s closure has not been limited to the U.S., like Roubini noted.

Early in the week, European markets closed much lower with bank stocks falling 5.65 percent—the biggest slide in more than a year. The most recent worst day had been on March 4, 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, when bank stocks fell 6.66 per cent.

On Monday, Europe’s Stoxx 600 index closed down 2.34 percent, Germany’s DAX was down 3 percent, France’s CAC 40 fell 2.9 percent and the UK’s FTSE 100 declined 2.6 percent. Shares of Switzerland’s Credit Suisse hit a record low, tumbling more than 12 percent.

“That’s the natural lag of the global contagion. That’s why even in Europe, stocks are way down, even though they had nothing to do with this particular (collapse),” Roubini said.

U.S. President Joe Biden insisted that the system was safe after the second and third largest bank failures in the nation’s history happened within 48 hours.

In response to the crisis, regulators guaranteed all deposits at the two banks and created a programme that effectively threw a lifeline to other banks to shield them from a run on deposits.

“Your deposits will be there when you need them,’ Biden told the public, seeking to project calm. He also said the banking executives responsible for the failures would be held accountable.

Despite the message from the White House, investors broadly dumped shares in bank stocks.

Shares of First Republic Bank closed down more than 60 per cent even after the bank said it was taking emergency funding from the Federal Reserve and additional money from JP Morgan Chase.

Shares in KeyCorp and Comerica plunged by nearly a third. The stock of well-known franchises such as Charles Schwab, Fifth Third Bank, Truist and Huntington Bancshares all dropped by double digits.

In both cases, the government agreed to cover deposits, even those that exceeded the federally insured limit of $250,000 (£205,000).

But customers at other banks with deposits over the $250,000 limit remained at risk of losing access to their money for a time.

The Bank of England and UK Treasury said they facilitated the sale of a Silicon Valley Bank subsidiary in London to HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank.

The deal protected £6.7 billion of deposits.

Under the plan announced by U.S. regulators, depositors at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were able to access their money.

A new federal programme will allow banks to post those securities as collateral and borrow from the emergency facility.

The Treasury has set aside $25 billion (£20.5 billion) to offset any losses. However, Fed officials said they do not expect to have to use that money, given that the securities posted as collateral have a very low risk of default.