Shares in British banks were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading as investors started to indulge in a bit of profit hunting.

Yesterday banking shares rose thanks to a decent set of results from US bank JP Morgan helping to strengthen confidence in the international banking sector.

However Lloyds Banking Group saw its shares take a slight hit after Barclays Capital cut its target price on the bank, thanks to this week's interim report from the Independent Commission Banking which called for the sale of more Lloyds branches.

By 10:05 shares in Lloyds Banking Group were down 0.71 per cent to 60.25 pence per share, RBS shares fell 0.88 per cent to 43.77 pence per share, Barclays shares dropped 0.65 per cent to 306.85 pence per share and HSBC shares decreased 0.70 per cent to 657.00 pence per share.

Overall the FTSE 100 was down 0.56 per cent to 5,976.46.

Barclays HSBC FTSE