Major stock markets outside the United States ended on Tuesday.
Britain's Lloyds plunged 31 percent, Belgian KBC Groep lost 24 percent and French banks took a hammering after Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said that all banks accepting a future tranche of state aid would need to limit dividend payments to shareholders and ban executive bonuses.
BNP Paribas fell 13 percent and Societe Generale lost nearly 14 percent. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 16.75 points lower at 774.48. The index is down more than 7 percent already this year, after slumping 45 percent in 2008.