Adderson snaps up distressed European banks in sell-off

Recent market sell-offs have prompted Henderson's Emily Adderson to buy distressed European banking stocks after sharp share price falls.

French bank stocks have plummeted on fears over the country’s debt rating and its exposure to European sovereign debt, with last week’s GDP figures piling on the pressure. Crédit Agricole fell 31%, BNP Paribas 27% and Société Générale 37% from highs over the last month. Adderson, manager of the £76m Henderson Global Financials fund, had exposure to SocGen and Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo, and has since bought more shares in both. She upped exposure to both the French and Italian banks by about 1%, bringing both weightings to 2% of her fund. “Some of these European names are trad...