French political crisis impacts European bank stocks! Société Générale (SCGLY.US) and Deutsche Bank (DB.US) fall over 5%. JPMorgan says the pullback may offer entry opportunities.

Zhitong Finance APP has learned that European bank stocks faced another round of sell-offs on Wednesday, with shares of Société Générale (SCGLY.US) and Deutsche Bank (DB.US) both dropping by more than 5% at one point. As concerns over France's political situation and fiscal outlook continue to escalate, sovereign bond yields are rising, dragging down the banking sector.

The STOXX Europe Banks Index once fell by 4%, set to close at its lowest level in about three months. All its components declined, including major financial institutions such as BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, and UniCredit. The recent consecutive pullbacks have also narrowed the robust gains seen in European bank stocks so far this year.

European financial markets have continued to come under pressure recently, with the risk of the French government potentially collapsing and further widening of the fiscal deficit being key disruptive factors. Investors have ramped up their sell-off of French government bonds, driving the yield spread between French and German 10-year government bonds to about 140 basis points. The market is concerned that if pressure in France’s bond market continues to mount, the European Central Bank could face its sternest market test since the eurozone debt crisis more than a decade ago.

Bank stocks are particularly sensitive to volatility in the sovereign bond market. Since the start of this year, European bank stocks had significantly outperformed the broader European market as well as their US peers. Despite the recent sell-off, the STOXX Europe Banks Index is still up around 12% since 2026, but has fallen back more than 8% from its August highs.

However, JPMorgan believes the recent decline in European bank stocks is more likely a de-risking move triggered by market sentiment and investor position adjustments, rather than a sign of material deterioration in bank fundamentals.

In a Wednesday report, JPMorgan strategists led by Davide Silvestrini said this pullback may offer a good entry opportunity for European bank stocks, especially French banks. The bank's base scenario suggests there is limited room for a further sharp rise in bond yields, and the direct impact of widening sovereign spreads in countries such as France on banks' balance sheets is also expected to be limited.

JPMorgan pointed out that compared to direct capital or liquidity shocks, the market should pay more attention to the potential indirect impacts of persistently wider sovereign spreads, including changes in bank deposit structures and the pressure a weaker macroeconomy might exert on asset quality. However, these risks currently depend more on market sentiment, the likelihood of such scenarios occurring, and how long sovereign spreads remain elevated, rather than any immediate mechanical hit to bank capital and liquidity.

Therefore, even though political and fiscal uncertainty in France is exacerbating short-term volatility in European bank stocks, JPMorgan does not currently view the recent decline as a fundamentally-driven long-term downtrend. Whether the French sovereign bond market can stabilize, and whether the French-German yield spread continues to widen, will be key factors influencing the outlook for European bank stocks going forward.