MADRID, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The chair and chief executive officer of the Spanish Banking Association (ABE), Alejandra Kindelan, on Thursday assured that there was "absolutely" no risk of contagion from the Credit Suisse crisis and the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse.
Speaking at the New Economy Forum (a Madrid-based platform for economic debate), Kindelan said the situation of the two banks "has nothing to do" with Spain and that she was confident in Spain's banking system, which was strengthened in wake of the 2008 economic crisis.
"I am more convinced than ever that in Spain we have the best banks in Europe and, possibly, in the world," she said.
Kindelan said that the ABE had been aware of possible problems with Credit Suisse.
"We have been hearing information from Credit Suisse for months, it is a bank that had its difficulties," she commented.
She said the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank had "nothing to do" with Spain. SVB dealt with "a series of companies with the same business model," meaning its deposits were poorly diversified, she said.
"You can't make any kind of comparison on either the liability or the asset side with our banks here. It is another type of entity," Kindelan said, who nevertheless accepted this was "a time of great volatility in the markets, with still a lot of uncertainty."
Spain's Treasury Minister Maria Jesus Montero also tried to calm the markets, explaining that the country's financial system was more resilient and subject to much stricter control than before the 2008 crisis.
She said the government was calm, but assured it was closely following the developments internationally.
