Shares in British banks were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after some discouraging news from the banking sector in Italy.

Italian bank UBI Banca saw its shares dive ten per cent this morning after it announced a plan to raise its capital by a billion euros.

The news did little to help risk-sensitive shares in British banks.

By 10:00 shares in Lloyds Banking Group were down 0.12 per cent to 60.53 pence per share, RBS shares dropped 0.14 per cent to 42.35 pence per share, Barclays shares fell 0.60 per cent to 290.65 pence per share and HSBC shares declined 0.54 per cent to 650.00 pence per share.

Overall the FTSE 100 was flat at 5,904.33.

Barclays HSBC FTSE