Dublin report:The Iseq index took another battering yesterday, with a further €2 billion wiped off its value as it closed at its lowest level in more than 15 months.

The sentiment was once more driven by overseas factors, with global nervousness about the financial sector leaving no bank untouched. News over the weekend that Chuck Prince had resigned as chief executive of Citigroup exacerbated the ongoing concerns about the credit markets and prompted investors to steer clear of banking stocks.

All the Irish banks closed down more than 3 per cent, although they were off their intra-day by the end of the session.

Irish Life & Permanent was the worst hit, falling as much as 6.5 per cent before recovering some ground to end down 3.4 per cent, or 47 cent, at €13.61.

Anglo was the busiest of the financials, with more than 7.6 million shares changing hands. The stock traded as low as €10.52, before rebounding a little to close down 3.1 per cent, or 3.4 cent, at €10.79.

Bank of Ireland, meanwhile, lost as much as 4.5 per cent, before closing 3.2 per cent lower at €11.44, and AIB fell as low as €15.65 before ending the day at €15.90, a decline of 2.8 per cent, or 45 cent.

Dealers said there was no appetite for the Irish financials.

Elsewhere drinks group C&C also took a battering, falling 3.6 per cent, or 19 cent, to €5.16, though volume was light.

Ryanair dropped 3.6 per cent, or 21 cent, to end the day at €5.45 despite revealing a 24 per cent increase in first-half profit. Dealers said the results were already priced into the shares, but that investors had expected a more bullish outlook. The company warned that ticket prices would fall and that it may be hurt by rising oil prices.