Italian banks fall ahead of ‘Brexit moment’ referendum
London — Shares in Italian banks slumped Monday on jitters over the outcome of a crucial weekend referendum, dragging down markets across Europe, while the outlook on an Opec production deal fluctuated along with oil prices. In afternoon trading, shares in Italian lenders Unicredit and Banco Popolare were down about 3% compared with Friday’s closing levels. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the lender burdened by bad loans and under pressure to raise fresh money, tumbled as much as 17% before paring declines. Intesa Sanpaolo fell at least 2.1%. The poor sentiment extended to the rest of Europe, with Royal Bank of Scotland and Societe Generale falling 1.4%, while Deutsche Bank shed 0.7%. The spread between Italian and German government bond yields widened to the most in more than two years. The spread between Italian and German 10-year government bond yields widened four basis points to 189 basis points, set for the highest close since May 2014. Italy’s securities have been the worst ...
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