European stocks are down today after an undisclosed investor sold significant stakes in some of the largest banks in the region.
The STOXX Europe 600 index slipped 1.2% in the morning, while the German DAX and the banking market declined by 1.8% and 2.3%, respectively. According to the reports, an undisclosed investor offloaded large stakes in Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) (OTC:CRZBY).
The sale reportedly includes 116 million shares of Deutsche Bank and 72.5 million shares of Commerzbank, which translates to over 5% of the two banking giants.
Deutsche Bank said it feels “confident” about its strategy after its shares initially fell 9.5% before recovering.