Finance & economics | Spring fever

Are NYCB’s troubles the start of another banking panic?

Probably not. But they do suggest broader problems

The New York Community Bank headquarters in Hicksville, New York
Still standingPhotograph: Getty Images
|Washington, DC

A bank publishes lousy earnings or an “update” on its business. Its share price plunges. Its name is splashed on newspaper front pages. The bank’s bosses hold a conference call urging calm. Its share price slides some more. Anyone who has paid attention to America’s banking industry over the past year will recognise these events. They ended in failure for Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in March and First Republic Bank (FRB) in April.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Spring fever”

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