Bank shares rose this morning on European bourses amid hopes that the lowest point of the worst recession since the 1930s is behind us.
A review by the Bank of England highlighting the need for UK banks to boost their capital over the next two years did little to dent investor enthusiasm.
Standard Chartered gained 45p, or 2.6%, to £17.56, while the Royal Bank of Scotland added 2.1% to 46.1p, at 9.15am. In France, BNP Paribas added 2.5% to €47.05.
The gains were not enough to push the FTSE 100 higher after BP confirmed it faces increased clean-up costs after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil company, which has seen its share price more than halve since the oil spill, lost 21p, or 6.4%, to 304p. Concerns about the company's ability to pay its bills, and possible future sanctions, lifted the cost that bond investors pay to protect against a potential default. BP's credit default swaps rose by $19,000 to $555,000, a level similar to Greece before the country was pushed into an EU bailout plan.
The FTSE 100 lost 14 points, or 02.8%, to 5085.
