Creditanstalt failure sparks European banking panic
Labels: Creditanstalt, Austria, European bankingAustria’s largest bank, Creditanstalt, announced it could not meet its obligations, intensifying fear about bank solvency across Europe. The shock helped trigger cross-border withdrawals and capital flight, putting pressure on countries trying to keep their currencies convertible into gold. This set the stage for a wave of gold-standard suspensions and devaluations in the early 1930s.