Shares in British banks were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading as troubles in Greece continued to loom over the market.

Yesterday two year Greek yields jumped 30 per cent as protests rocked the debt struck nation.

Eurozone ministers have still failed to agree on a second bailout deal, heightening fears that Greece could be headed for a default, an event some fear could be a "second Lehman Brothers" in terms of its impact on the financial world.

Risk sensitive banks all saw their shares decline.

By 09:55 shares in Lloyds Banking Group were down 0.59 per cent to 47.76 pence per share, RBS shares dropped 1.07 per cent to 39.85 pence per share, Barclays shares fell 0.55 per cent to 252.60 pence per share and HSBC shares declined 0.99 per cent to 602.20 pence per share.

Overall the FTSE 100 was down 0.82 per cent to 5,652.05.

Barclays HSBC FTSE