Business Daily Media

The Times Real Estate

.

The Fed raises interest rates despite the ongoing banking crisis

  • On Wednesday, 22 March 2023, the Federal Reserve continued its fight against inflation and once again raised interest rates by 0.25%. This move causes concern because the present banking crisis has developed precisely because of rising interest rates.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach - 23 March 2023 - On Wednesday, 22 March 2023, the Federal Reserve continued its fight against inflation and once again raised interest rates by 0.25%. This move causes concern because the present banking crisis has developed precisely because of rising interest rates.

So far, the Federal Reserve's (Fed) successful strategy for fighting inflation has been to raise the key rate and reduce the balance sheet. This negatively impacted the value of U.S. Treasury bonds and other securities, which are an important source of capital for most U.S. banks. Silicon Valley Bank was the first to fail—it was forced to quickly sell the cheaper bonds at a significant loss, leading to a liquidity crisis and eventual collapse. This was followed by Signature Bank and Credit Suisse, which had to sell-off, and First Republic, which received a lifeline.

The U.S. Federal Reserve recognised its mistake and took emergency measures to support the banking system. It provided $303 billion of liquidity to banks through the Discount Window and Bank Term Funding Program (BFTP), thereby curbing the banking crisis locally.

The crisis also spread to the eurozone, with Credit Suisse failing after a 166-year run. To prevent a complete collapse, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) opened a credit line for Credit Suisse, which enabled it to take a $53.7 billion loan and stay afloat. However, it ultimately failed.

Just hours after opening the credit line, the European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde announced a rate hike, doubling it by 50 basis points at a scheduled meeting. While investors viewed this as a positive signal for European economic stability, the rate hike decision appeared hasty and could potentially lead to an aggressive rate hike by the Fed.

At Wednesday's meeting, the Fed showed great restraint by adhering to its baseline and raising the key rate by 25 bps, while looking to reduce the balance sheet further. The press release on the situation with the banks stated the following:

"The U.S. banking system is sound and resilient. Recent developments are likely to result in tighter credit conditions for households and businesses and to weigh on economic activity, hiring, and inflation. The extent of these effects is uncertain. The Committee remains highly attentive to inflation risks."

Jerome Powell reported the need for continued balance sheet cuts. Commenting on the issue, the OctaFX financial market analyst Kar Yong Ang said: 'It is commendable that the Fed did not cave to market pressure and maintained the course to suppress inflation. This is a crucial step that will help them curb inflation and perhaps even avoid a recession.'

However, there were dovish signals in the Fed's dot plot, including a rate cut of 75 bps next year. Seeing only the growing liquidity flow, the market interpreted it as the end of the tightening monetary policy cycle, with swap markets betting that the U.S. Fed rate will fall to 4.19% at the end of this year.

The banking sector is facing great risks, and the regulators' fight against inflation could make it more unstable, ultimately dragging the rest of the economy down the chain and potentially causing a global recession. Only time will tell whether this happens.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About OctaFX

is an international broker that has been providing online trading services worldwide since 2011. It offers commission-free access to financial markets and a variety of services already utilised by clients from 180 countries with more than 21 million trading accounts. Free educational webinars, articles, and analytical tools they provide help clients reach their investment goals.

The company is involved in a comprehensive network of charitable and humanitarian initiatives, including the improvement of educational infrastructure and short-notice relief projects supporting local communities.

OctaFX has also won more than 60 awards since its foundation, including the 'Best Online Broker Global 2022' award from World Business Outlook and the 'Best Global Broker Asia 2022' award from International Business Magazine.

News from Asia

SonicWall Redefines Cybersecurity, Sets New Standard with Next Generation Network Security Solutions Built for MSPs

Delivering peace of mind with layered security, co-managed services and a unified management platform, SonicWall is helping partners grow services profitably through its continued innovation levera...

BNM’s Policy Rate Call Looms: Octa Broker Highlights Inflation, Exchange Rate and Trade Challenges

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 6 May 2025 - This Thursday, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will announce its policy rate decision. While most analysts expect no change, Octa Broker ...

TDCX retains rank as the top Southeast Asian outsourced CX provider

Among top 17 globally in OA500 Index that evaluates BPO firms worldwide SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 7 May 2025 - TDCX, a leading global business process outsourcing (BPO) company for te...

NIA Eyes Green Tech Unicorns Within Three Years, Four Thai Startups Set to Showcase at ‘Web Summit Qatar 2025’ as Global Green Innovation Market Forecasts 25% Annual Growth Over the Next Decade

BANGKOK, THAILAND - Media OutReach Newswire - 7 May 2025 - The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI), through the National Innovation Agency (Public Organization)...

Trend Micro Delivers AI-Powered Threat Detection with AWS Infrastructure Support and NVIDIA Integration

Proactive security with AI-powered model built for modern enterprise workloads HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 7 May 2025 - Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cyb...

Bee Choo Origin Strengthens CSR Efforts with Electric Van Donation to NKF

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 7 May 2025 – Bee Choo Origin, Singapore’s leading herbal hair care brand that specialises in hair fall treatment and oily scalp treatment, has reaffirmed it...

SMART launches new research group WISDOM to pioneer technologies that will help machines "see" like humans

Multi-million-dollar, three-and-a-half-year programme to advance Singapore’s optoelectronics and photonics capabilities and semiconductor industry, which generated over S$133 billion in 202...

Vingroup and the Rise of the ESG Ecosystem

Vingroup is positioning itself to lead Vietnam's ESG push, using its broad business network to drive sustainable growth at home and abroad, while eyeing partnerships in the Middle East's expanding ...

DFI Retail Group and Dingdong Announce Strategic Partnership With first-year sales target of HKD100 million

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 7 May 2025 - DFI Retail Group (DFI or the Group), and Dingdong (Cayman) Limited (Dingdong or DDL), a leading fresh food e-commerce platform in the mainlan...

Blue Cross Surpasses Market Average with Over 20% Growth in 2024

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 7 May 2025 - Blue Cross (Asia-Pacific) Insurance Limited ("Blue Cross") reported outstanding performance in the 2024 provisional statistics for Hong Kong ...

UNSW startup accelerator offers $200K to the next generation of Australian deeptech unicorns

UNSW Founders, Australia’s most recommended startup accelerator, has partnered with fund manager Luminary Partners to invest $200,000 each into 18...

The Future Is Now: AI Modernization Is Reshaping How Business Gets Done

The present business environment imposes stronger requirements on Australian organizations to match the fast-paced digital-first economy requireme...

Businesses losing an average of $493k from data integrity flaws

Managing data responsibly and effectively for the AI age can give organisations a strong competitive advantage, but many are failing to harness th...

AI shopping disruptor Zyft raises $7.5M to lead the next gen of retail tech

Zyft appoints new CEO, Richard Stevens, to lead the latest Waller Group success story, valued at $30 million SYDNEY, 28 April 2025: Zyft, the lea...

Little known law offers savvy Kiwis the opportunity to supercharge their retirement savings

A little-known legal amendment is being leveraged by savvy New Zealanders and expat Brits to supercharge their retirement savings. Not many peop...

Cutting edge AI technology designed for doctors to reduce patient wait times launched in NZ

New Zealand specialist doctors now have access to Artificial Intelligence technology to help reduce patient wait times and experts say it could be...

Sell by LayBy