Shares in British banks were broadly down in morning trading on the FTSE 100 following a strong session yesterday.

Banking shares were up yesterday after HSBC reported a doubling of its pre-tax profits in the first half of the year to $11.1 billion.

However much of the gains of yesterday were lost in morning trading.

By 09:10 shares in Lloyds Banking Group were down 0.98 per cent to 71.73 pence per share, Barclays shares fell 1.25 per cent to 339.65 pence per share and HSBC shares declined 1.57 per cent to 669.30 pence per share.

However RBS shares rose 0.10 per cent to 52.15 pence per share, thanks to reports that the bank was on the verge of selling a chain of its branches to Santander.

Overall the FTSE 100 was down 0.41 per cent to 5,374.95.

Barclays HSBC FTSE