Are we in a banking crisis?

The speed of the demise of US bank SVB and then Credit Suisse in Europe has spooked bank investors and customers who are wondering if there are undisclosed financial weaknesses at their banks. So, what is going on and what happens next?

Are we in a banking crisis?

Opinions diverge on this question.

The California-based Silicon Valley Bank is the biggest US bank collapse since 2008, and Credit Suisse has joined financial crisis peers such as Bear Stearns that were sold at fire-sale prices.

AMP chief economist Shane Oliver says that while the bank failures do not look like a rerun of the financial crisis, they do represent contagion risks.