Banks shares suffer on more curbs threat

Shares in banks came under pressure for a second day as investors mulled the prospect of lower future profits and dividends after the latest recommendations from the Basel Committee of central bankers.Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland all fell again as the committee, seen as a overseeing body for the industry, warned banks will have to face lower returns in future while setting a much tougher than expected definition for core capital ratios.The new rules were said by analysts to be even harsher than the additional £33bn banks would need to hold against their trading books suggested by the Financial Services Authority. To meet the rules, banks would have to restrain bonuses and dividend payments or raise even more new capital they suggest.The Bank of England, meanwhile, echoed the call for the sector to rebuild balance sheets in its latest financial stability report and blamed "excessive risk-taking in the upswing of the credit cycle and insufficient resilience in the subsequent downturn," for the credit crisis.The Bank added that as profits are now "relatively buoyant" again, the banks should "take opportunities to strengthen their balance sheets, including by not distributing an excessive amount of profit".The report concluded that the UK's financial system has become "significantly more stable over the past six months", on the back of its quantitative easing programme and 0.5% interest rates, which had enabled banks to raise external funds and reduce their dependence on short-term funding.