Banxico governor sees no contagion in Mexico from U.S. banking crisis

By Valentine Hilaire and Noe Torres

MERIDA, Mexico (Reuters) – The Bank of Mexico’s Governor Victoria Rodriguez said on Friday the Mexican banking system is solid, vowing to remain vigilant but emphasizing there was no current reason for authorities to intervene.

Rodriguez, a former deputy finance minister, was asked about possible contagion from the collapse of U.S. lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and market turmoil that ensnared Credit Suisse Group AG.

The failed U.S. banks were regional lenders and have no systemic impact, Rodriguez told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of Mexico’s annual banking convention in the southern city of Merida.

She said, “The relationship between them and the Mexican system is practically non-existent… We do not see a contagion or banks that are in a similar situation in our country.”

Asked about the latest inflation data in Mexico and what that could mean for interest rates, Rodriguez noted February inflation data was good news, underscoring that upcoming data t will need to be considered before the bank’s next monetary policy decision.

“There is still relevant information that is going to emerge and we will be analyzing it,” said Rodriguez.

The rise in Mexico’s core consumer prices slowed by more than expected to 8.29% in the year to February, data from statistics agency INEGI showed last week, providing some relief as Latin America’s second-largest economy grapples with high inflation and interest rates.

(Reporting by Valentine Hilaire and Noe Torres; Editing by Anthony Esposito and Cynthia Osterman)