US-listed shares of European banks fell sharply on Friday, with downgrades of Spain's and Italy's credit ratings underscoring the extent of the eurozone's debt problems. US ratings agency, Fitch, cut Spain to AA-minus from AA-plus and kept a negative outlook on the new rating in a sign more downgrades are possible in the next couple of years.
It also cut Italy's sovereign credit rating one notch to A+ from AA-. Shares of Barclays dropped 4.3 percent to $10.15 in New York, while shares of Deutsche Bank fell 5 percent to $35.15. Spain's Banco Santander ended up 0.1 percent at $8.48. Banks are seen having among the most exposure to the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, and their shares have been hit hard over the past few months.
The European Central Bank this week offered more help to struggling banks through the purchase of covered bonds and with a renewed offer of longer-term loans to ward off a new credit crunch. Among other financials, shares of Credit Suisse were down 4.3 percent at $25.45, and shares of ING were down 3.9 percent at $7.38. The BNY Mellon index of leading American Depository Receipts ended down 0.9 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.8 percent. The BNY Mellon index of leading European ADRs ended down 0.6 percent, while the BNY Mellon index of leading Asian ADRs was down 1.4 percent and the BNY Mellon index of leading Latin American ADRs fell 1.9 percent.
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