IF THE start of the year has been desperate for the world’s stockmarkets, it has been downright disastrous for shares in banks. Financial stocks are down by 19% in America and 32% in Japan. The declines have been even steeper in parts of Europe. Greek banks’ shares have plunged by over 60% since January 1st; their Italian counterparts have dropped by 39% (see chart). A fall in the overall European banking index of 27% has brought the sector close to the lows it plumbed in the summer of 2012, when the euro zone was threatening to disintegrate until Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), declared he would do “whatever it takes” to save the euro.
The distress in Europe encompasses big banks as well as smaller ones. It has affected behemoths within the euro area such as Deutsche Bank—which fell by an extraordinary 9.5% on February 8th—as well as giants outside it such as Barclays...Continue reading
Source: Business and finance http://ift.tt/1KcXEIx
EmoticonEmoticon