Banking losses lead Europe down Equities indices across Europe made their biggest losses in a week on Wednesday, led by banking stocks. Risk appetite waned amid growing concern about the eurozone's periphery countries. Financial Times reports that the European Central Bank had rejected the Spanish government's plan to recapitalise the part-nationalised sent Bankia shares lower and fuelled wider concern about other banks in the country. Bankia slid 4.2 per cent to €1.09. Bankinter tumbled 3.2 per cent to €2.60, while Banco Popular slid 2.7 per cent to €1.61 in morning trading. Banco Santander , Spain's biggest lender by assets, fell 1.5 per cent to €4.24. Mapfre, an insurer which is 15 per cent owned by Bankia, slumped 3 per cent to €1.66. The Ibex 35 fell 2 per cent to 6,124.2. Overall, the Ibex 35 fell 1.2 per cent to 6,184,8. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 1.3 per cent to 978.64, with the bank sub-index falling a further 2.2 per cent. Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling made some of the biggest losses on the Eurofirst300 in morning trading, sliding down 4.4 per cent to €12.57. The move helped to push down the broader Athens General index, which lost 3.1 per cent to 511.78. Vallourec , the French steel tube maker, made big losses, sliding 3.3 per cent to €31.57, pushing the CAC 40 1.5 per cent to 3,039.85. Italian carmaker Fiat climbed 1.7 per cent to €8.02, making the biggest gains on the Eurofirst 300 index. The gains failed to lift the broader FTSE MIB index, which slid 1.6 per cent to 12,897.14 Continental , the German car-parts supplier, made big gains in morning trading, climbing 2.5 per cent to €69.19. The broader Xetra Dax index in Frankfurt fell 1.2 per cent to 6,323.45.