Bank shares fall on poor stress test results

Shares in Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank owner RBS, as well as Barclays fell as stock markets responded for the first time to the results of the stress tests of 51 European banks.

The falls came as business group Ibec said the hit taken by Irish firms from the slump in sterling against the euro since the Brexit vote was on par with the 1992 currency crisis.

Bank of Ireland and AIB, as well as three Spanish banks, two Austrian banking leaders, and Barclays and RBS were among the “weakest performers” in the European Banking Authority tests, which measured the hit they would take from a severe future economic shock.