European bank shares tumble after leaked files unveil suspicious money flows worth over $2 trillion
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Saloni Sardana
Sep 21, 2020, 17:00 IST
FRANKFURT, GERMANY - MAY 18: Shareholders walk past a huge Deutsche Bank logo during the banks annual shareholders meeting on May 18, 2005 in Frankfurt, Germany. Deutsche Bank will go ahead with targeted acquisitions and job cuts to enforce the banks global competitiveness. (Photo by Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images)Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images
FinCEN investigation released on Sunday showed several banks were involved in moving more than $2 trillion worth in suspicious funds.
European bank shares fell on Monday after thousands of leaked files released over the weekend showed how a number of major institutions had engaged for years in handling up to $2 trillion in dirty money.
European equities were already under pressure on Monday from a resurgence in cases of Covid-19 across the region, pushing the Stoxx 600 down by 2.2%, but banks were easily the worst performers, prompting a 5% drop in the Stoxx 600 banking index.
The ICIJ analysed the leaked documents over the last 16 months with more than 400 journalists across 88 countries taking part.
JPMorgan, HSBC and Deutsche Bank facilitated the movement of criminal money even after getting caught, the agency reported.
Deutsche Bank appears to have accounted for more than half of the amount, as between 1999 and 2017. $1.3 trillion was flagged to have passed through the German lender, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle Reported.
Deutsche Bank shares were down 9% as of 06:32 am ET, while London-listed shares in HSBC shares fell 6%, following a drop in the Hong Kong-listed stock of 5% to its lowest since 1995.
Standard Chartered was down more than 5% and its shares in Hong Kong also declined by more than 6%.
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Barclays lost 8%, while shares in France's Societe Generale lost more 7%.
Pre-market indicators are also pointing to a drop for some US banks. Shares in JPMorgan and BNY Melon are both down more than 3% in pre-market trade.
Here is how a number of banks responded to the documents.
Banks with the largest activity in the FinCEN report
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