European markets declined on Friday, continuing concerns about the safety of the sector amid reports of a U.S. probe into Credit Suisse and UBS, which increased pressure on banking and financial service stocks.
The Stoxx 60 index fell by 0.9%, coinciding with a 6.4% drop in Credit Suisse shares and a 6.3% drop in UBS shares, after Bloomberg reported that they are among the banks being scrutinized in a Department of Justice investigation regarding whether financial experts assisted wealthy Russians in evading sanctions.
Raiffeisen Bank's shares dropped by 1.8%, following a Reuters report that the European Central Bank is pressuring the Austrian bank to abandon its profitable operations in Russia.
The European banking index fell by 2.3%, with Deutsche Bank shares declining by 5.4%. Financial service stocks decreased by 1.5%.
In a press conference held today in Brussels, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that European banks are in a "strong" position, even as shares of major banks in the region sharply declined.
