Fitch says banks in Asia are resilient to risks seen in U.S. bank failures

cnbc.com:

Asia-Pacific banks are «resilient to risks» highlighted by failures seen in U.S. banking sector, Fitch Ratings said Thursday, adding the exposure to Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank is insignificant for regional banks the agency covers.

«The direct exposures among Fitch-rated banks in APAC to SVB and Signature that we are aware of are not material to credit profiles,» Fitch said in a note.

«Weaknesses that contributed to the failure of the two banks are among the factors already considered in our rating assessments for APAC banks, but these are often offset by structural factors,» Fitch said, adding that exposures tend to be the largest in India and Japan.

Fitch's assessment on banks in Asia-Pacific comes as U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen overnight said not all uninsured deposits will be protected in future bank failures.

On Friday, shares of banks and financials in Asia-Pacific markets took a breather in the morning after seeing sharp losses in a volatile trading week.

In Sydney, Commonwealth Bank of Australia traded 1.21% higher and National Australia Bank rose 1.65%, both seeing gains after plunging more than 3% earlier in the week. Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group also gained 0.75% and Mizuho Financial Group gained 1.58%.

While Fitch sees a significant risk of volatility in deposits for digital banks in the region, it noted the governments in Asia-Pacific will likely step in to support their banks when needed – a possibility that will help mitigate further risk.

«We believe risks from valuation losses are offset by the likelihood that the authorities will provide liquidity support to banks if needed,» the agency said, pointing to regulators in Australia and Japan as examples.

Short sellers are doubling