Shares of banks around the world fell on Monday, despite the US president’s assurances about the safety of the American financial system, the BBC reports.

It comes after authorities had to step in to protect customer deposits when US lenders Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank collapsed.

Joe Biden has promised to do “everything possible” to protect the banking system. But investors fear that other lenders could also suffer from the fallout, which has sent stock prices around the world plummeting. Earlier on Monday, shares of Spain’s Santander and Germany’s Commerzbank simultaneously fell by more than 10%. A number of smaller US banks suffered even bigger losses than European banks on Monday, despite assuring clients that they have more than enough cash to protect themselves from shocks.

The volatility led to speculation that the US Federal Reserve would suspend its plans to continue raising interest rates to curb inflation. Joe Biden said individuals and companies who deposited money at Silicon Valley Bank will have access to all their money starting Monday after the government stepped in to fully protect their deposits. Many business customers have faced the prospect of not being able to pay their staff and suppliers after their funds have been frozen.

The BBC’s North American correspondent James Clayton spoke to people who had been queuing all day outside the SVB branch in Menlo Park, California to access their funds. Since the bank no longer offered wire transfers, they withdrew their money in cashier’s checks.