Shares in the State's banks fell on the Iseq this morning amid ongoing uncertainty over their ability to raise capital.
AIB was down by as much nearly 20 per cent, with Bank of Ireland down 14 per cent, while Irish Life & Permanent dropped more than 8 per cent.
According to a Dublin-based broker, the Iseq was very weak this morning on the back of the banks' performance, with the sell-off of recent days continuing amid a weak European banking sector and news that Lloyds in the United Kingdom is raising cash.
He also noted that CRH was off 3 per cent after American construction-materials company Vulcan Materials gave a cautious outlook last night.
The fall in bank shares come as both Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and the Lloyds Banking Group in the United Kingdom today announced they would sell off divisions following talks with the European Union over bailout conditions.
RBS, which owns Ulster Bank in Ireland, will sell its insurance division and bank branches after negotiations with the European Commission and the UK Treasury, pushing it further into government hands.
Lloyds Banking Group will sell a retail banking unit with a 4.6 per cent share of the current account market and 19 per cent of the group's mortgage balances to gain European Union approval for last year's £17 billion bailout package.
Britain's leading share index dropped 2.2 per cent in mid-session trade, with negative newsflow on the UK and global financial sector denting banks and contributing to a broad-based retreat in equities.
At 11.42am, the FTSE 100 index was 111.56 points lower at 4,992.94, slipping below the 5,000 level for the first time since October 2nd having gained 1.2 per cent yesterday.
Banks were hit hardest as Lloyds Banking Group launched its record £13.5 billion rights issue and along with rival RBS agreed to sell off some businesses to limit their reliance on government support.
Yesterday on the Iseq, Bank of Ireland and AIB, the State's two largest banks lost ground amid worries they may not be able to raise capital until negotiations with the EU Commission on State aid approval are completed.
World stocks hit a four-week low today and the dollar climbed as poor results from UBS and a shake-up of UK banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland prompted investors to cut back on risk.
UBS shares fell nearly 8 per cent after the bank reported larger-than-expected asset outflows for the third quarter.