An amazing and scary month

March was a month for the history books, marked by the collapse of a systemically important financial institution and a bond market wipeout. Caution may be the need of the hour

Finally, the month of March has come to a close, a period of stress and exaggerated market moves. Investors saw huge volatility and fear around the banking system’s viability in both the US and Europe, with the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Credit Suisse going bust.

There was a series of mini runs on the regional banks in the US, and the authorities had to come in to guarantee SVB depositors. JP Morgan Chase and other large American banks are trying to put together a private sector rescue of First Republic. The Additional Tier 1 bond markets got a shock