Not just a UK problem: European banking sector rocked by Brexit vote
London is not the only city feeling the burn in the banking industry, as many other European cities are experiencing some fallout from the referendum result.
Shares in Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse slid to their lowest level ever earlier today, before closing down 6.2 per cent and 9.2 per cent respectively. Societe Generale closed down 8.4 per cent.
Italian banks have fared particularly poorly, with Unicredit closing down 8.1 per cent and Banca Monte dei Paschi down 13.3 per cent.
According to a note from Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, the Italian banks are not only battling through Brexit uncertainty, but also have a vast amount of non-performing loans raising questions about their solvency.
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Hewson highlighted that Spanish banks were also juggling two sets of uncertainty at once, after acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy failed to secure an overall majority in the elections over the weekend.
Referring the banking sector at large rather than any specific company, Vishal Vedi, banking partner at Deloitte, told Morning Wire: "More broadly, the European banks are having to deal with the same challenges and issues that the UK banks are going to. There's a currency volatility [and] they will need to take a view – investors and the banks themselves – as to what the implications are going to be for the long-term economic outlooks, both of the EU countries and the UK."
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Vedi added: "Continental Europe obviously has been through certain economic difficulties, seems to be recovering, and this again just creates uncertainty as to whether that can be sustained. It's that really that I think that we're seeing at the moment."
Anybody hoping to bag a banking job in Continental Europe is also out of luck. "To sum up, the feelings aired in Europe are mix of anxiety, anger, alienation and bewilderment with very few looking feeling upbeat about prospects," David Archer, City headhunter at Circle Square, told Morning Wire
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However, Archer added that the feelings among those in London are "similar albeit many bankers who have made a life and have commitments over here are left thinking no one has given me any clarity about me being able stay here" as questions continue to be raised surrounding what passporting rules will look like in the future.