Deutsche Bank shares tumbled on Friday as the cost of insuring against its default spiked amid lingering concerns about the European banking sector.
At 1205 GMT, the shares were down 13.7% at €8.06. Pricing for credit default swaps – a form of insurance against default for a company’s bondholders – jumped to 173 basis points on Thursday night from 142 basis points a day earlier.
Other bank shares were also sharply lower, with Credit Suisse and UBS down 7% and 6.5%, respectively. Commerzbank fell 8.4%, while Societe Generale lost 7%. Meanwhile, the Stoxx 600 banks index was 5.2% weaker at 136.70.
On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that UBS and CS were among banks being looked at in a US Justice Department investigation into whether financial professionals had helped Russian oligarchs to evade sanctions.
