SNB to provide Credit Suisse with liquidity if needed; £75bn wiped off FTSE 100 – as it happened

Swiss authorities pledge to pump liquidity into Credit Suisse if needed, after its shares hit record low today

• SVB collapse may be start of slow rolling crisis', warns BlackRock boss
• Credit Suisse has shot itself in the foot - and wounded the global banking system

The crisis in the US banking sector casts a shadow over the budget today.

With three US banks having failed this month - Silvergate, Signature and Silicon Valley Bank - investors have been fretting that there could be further casualties.

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt wants today's Budget to be boring, in stark contrast to the fiscal fiasco around the mini-budget last September. The UK is undeniably facing a tough economic backdrop with sky-high inflation, sluggish growth, the cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine.

However, the economic outlook has improved in recent months with the UK managing to narrowly stave off a recession, the public purse logging an unexpected surplus in January and other indicators such as consumer confidence, PMIs and retail sales improving.

The withdrawal of the Energy Bill Support Scheme will still mean the average monthly bill rises by 67 from April.

With millions already unable to afford their bills and energy prices set to remain high in the years ahead, the government must now look at long-term solutions to this problem.