NEW YORK: Deutsche Bank’s woes and the looming first debate between battling US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton helped send global markets broadly lower Monday.
Banking shares in the US and Europe fell sharply following reports that Berlin has refused state aid to fortify Deutsche Bank as it faces a multibillion-dollar fine in the United States over its sale of mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis.
Shares in Germany’s biggest lender sank to a historic low, plunging by 7.5 percent to end the day at 10.55 euros ($11.87), dragging down Frankfurt’s DAX 30 by 2.2 percent.
“Given the state of the news, people are selling almost in a panic,” said analyst Michael Seufert of NordLB bank.
Other banks to fall included fellow German giant Commerzbank, down 3.8 percent, BNP Paribas of France, shedding 3.3 percent, and Bank of America, off 2.7 percent.
Meanwhile shares of the eight largest US banks deemed “systemically important” were also hit after the Federal Reserve’s top regulator said higher capital requirements were on the way for them.
JPMorgan Chase lost 2.2 percent; Wells Fargo, 1.9 percent; and Morgan Stanley, 2.8 percent.
The worries at Deutsche Bank are focused on the US government’s demand for a $14 billion fine to be paid due to the bank’s activities leading into the financial crisis.
