US banks retreat from European lending as the coronavirus pandemic rages

• US banks are lending less to companies in Europe during the coronavirus pandemic, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
• JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs are taking greater care in making loans to large corporate clients across Europe, the newspaper said.
• "We are increasingly observing an 'America first' attitude among large US banks," one adviser told FT.
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American banks are balking at lending to companies in Europe as the coronavirus pandemic rages, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The lenders may be looking to reduce their risk, hold on to more money, and avoid a repeat of their troubles during the financial crisis. They are taking greater care in underwriting simple loans to large corporate clients across Europe, the Financial Times said, citing bankers, advisers, and company executives.

Here are the banks that have recently pulled out of loan talks, or declined to take part in them, according to the report:

• JPMorgan withdrew from discussions over an additional line of credit for German chemical giant BASF. It also backed away from a $400 million rescue deal for SSP, despite being the British catering group's broker.
• Bank of America lent only half as much as six other banks that underwrote a $3.3 billion state-backed loan to German sportswear titan Adidas. It also declined to take part in a capital raise for Cineworld, the ailing British cinema group.
• Both JPMorgan and Bank of America also turned down British publisher Informa's request for a short-term loan and didn't underwrite its $1.3 billion share placement. Bank of America has been Informa's broker for a decade.
• Goldman Sachs took on the financial risk for a $3.8 billion syndicated loan for Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler this month. However, it didn't participate in a similar, $13 billion facility for Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz.

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'America first' attitude

"We are increasingly observing an 'America first' attitude among large US banks," an adviser involved in talks between companies and banks in Germany told the Financial Times. "Those are not just idiosyncratic cases, there is a clear pattern."

Companies in Europe are concerned about being unable to rely on US banks, the newspaper reported.

While JPMorgan declined to comment on individual client situations, it told Business Insider: "We extended over $25 billion in new credit to clients in March alone, and nearly half of that was in Europe. Our commitment to companies in the region remains unwavering."

Goldman Sachs and Bank of America did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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