Bank turmoil casts shadow over Europe interest rate decision

By DAVID McHUGH
AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Concerns about the world’s banks are casting a shadow over the European Central Bank’s meeting. Last week, everyone expected the ECB would follow through on its plans for a big interest rate increase of half a point. Now, it’s anyone’s guess after bank shares plunged this week and concerns mounted about the impact of rising interest rates on bank finances. That follows the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the U.S. Some analysts are predicting the bank will dial back the half-point increase to only a quarter-point.