The recent banking turmoil that led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the US and Credit Suisse in Europe is unlikely to cause a prolonged crisis, according to a survey by Morrison & Foerster (MoFo).

A majority of companies surveyed said the fall out from the stress in the banking sector is only likely to have a short-term impact on their businesses, with as many as 36% saying the episode has had no immediate impact. Those companies that said it did have an impact (34%) were more likely to be finance-related or fintech businesses, the survey data showed.

However, a majority of companies (64%) said they were either very concerned or moderately concerned that the disruption will constrain their ability to access capital. More than a third (39%) said they anticipate the situation impacting their company’s long-term banking and spending habits.

The survey also showed the episode has served as a ‘wake up call’ for companies to ensure they have a robust crisis management framework in place, with almost half of respondents (49%) saying their company doesn’t have one.

Alex Iftimie, co-chair of MoFo’s global risk and crisis management group, said: “The organisations that were best placed to respond to the banking crisis were those that had crisis management and business continuity plans in place to clarify decision making authority, ensure resiliency and to provide a roadmap for response.”

Some companies said the incident has spurred them to diversify their banking relationships, while others said they will make more conservative investments. Some companies said the episode had also prompted them to bolster current policies, procedures and operations.

Jackie Liu, a corporate partner at MoFo, said: “The recent bank failures teach us that companies of all sizes and maturity level should focus on financial resiliency. Financial resiliency, however, is not solely about banking relationships, but also liquidity, cash flow management, investment strategy and overall financial controls.”

The survey was conducted in March and was based on 70 respondents across a range of companies of different sizes, including in finance, tech and life sciences.