Lagarde revives stock exchanges skeptical of Credit Suisse bailout

The president of the ECB this time managed to reassure the markets, nervous after the rescue operation of the Swiss bank. The move by the Swiss financial regulator and the firmness of Frankfurt are working

A schizophrenic reaction on the European stock exchanges this morning welcomed the Credit Suisse rescue plan finalized over the weekend by the Swiss authorities with the help of rival bank UBS. First a thud at the opening (the Ftse Mib lost 2.7 percent) and then a rapid recovery (the index closed with a rise of 1.5 percent). It was the ECB that made the differencewhich said it was ready to retaliate with liquidity injections to restore financial stability, but that, in sum, there will be no need because Eurozone banks are “resilient with sound levels of capital and liquidity”. This time, President Christine Lagarde managed to calm the markets. His intervention on the Credit Suisse “case” prevented a repeat of last Monday’s scene when investors – intimidated by the collapse of the Californian banks – sold with both hands while traders on the New York stock exchange, also reassured by the timely and generous intervention of the White House, maintained aplomb and optimism.