Banks top FTSE 100 after buyer for US part of Silicon Valley Bank helps soothe nerves

London’s banks topped the leaderboard on the FTSE 100 in early trade, as nerves over the banking sector eased, helped by news of a deal to buy the US deposits of the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank.

After First Citizens of North Carolina emerged as the buyer for SVB, lenders were in demand in London on hopes that the move could help draw a line under the sense of crisis in the sector. Barclays made the best single gain up 5p, or almost 4%, at 139p. NatWest rose 6p to 264p, a rise of over 2%. Lloyds was up 1p at 47p, up 2%.

Overall, the FTSE 100 was 68 points stronger at 7473.42, up 0.9%.

Tortilla sales leap to new record after Chilango acquisition

Sales at Tortilla jumped to hit a new record in 2022 after the burrito firm acquired London-based rival Chilango.

Revenue for the year rose 20% to £57.5 million as the firm opened 18 new stores said it was ahead of schedule on its plan to open 45 sites across the country within 5 years.

Richard Morris, CEO of Tortilla, said: “As well as our continued expansion across the UK, we further strengthened our market position in London through our strategic acquisition of eight Chilango restaurants in the first half of the year.

“We successfully converted five of these to the Tortilla brand and have refurbished the three remaining Chilango sites. All these sites are benefiting from increased footfall in London.

London’s FTSE 100 expected to rise with financials under scrutiny

The FTSE 100 and wider European markets look set for opening gains today, with attention likely to remain on financial stocks.

After pressure on big-name lender Deutsche Bank on Friday, all eyes will be out for any further volatility in its shares and any signs of wider unease.

Ahead of the start of full trade, openning calls from CMC markets expect the FTSE 100 to rise 52 points to 7457, with similar gains expected in Paris and Frankfurt.

News broke oon Monday morning of a buyer for most of the US business of the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank. Regional bank First Citizens of North Carolina was named as the company taking on its deposits as regulators said SVB’s collapse would cost an industry-funded fund around $20 billion in losses.