DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 2,663.90 (–92.83) Settlement date: November26thIT WAS a torrid day for equities in Ireland and abroad, with bank shares plummeting in value as the euro zone debt crisis threatened to spread, and concern mounted about the status and future of Ireland's banking system.

Bank of Ireland dropped a colossal 23 per cent in value closing at €0.30. The sell-off in banking shares was on heavy volumes. Brokers in Dublin said the slide was due to concerns that the bank could be nationalised, or at the very least shareholder value could be diluted as a result of the conversion of the Government’s preference shares in the bank.

Bank of Ireland’s fall dominated market headlines across Europe, which also saw a steep fall in the share price of other euro-zone banks. Spain’s Santander bank declined 4.6 per cent while Portugal’s Banco Espirito Santo lost 3.4 per cent.

The other two Irish financial stocks also saw steep losses, with AIB down 19 per cent to finish at €0.33 and Irish Life Permanent falling 10 per cent to €0.75.

The picture was equally dismal in the non-financial sector, with cyclical stocks taking a hit, troubled by events further afield in Korea.

Global construction company CRH lost 3.8 per cent or 57 cent to €14.23.

Similarly Smurfit Kappa, which earlier this week announced it had raised €250 million on the markets to refinance existing commitments and pay off some of the company’s debt, shed 1.5 per cent to €7.26.

Elsewhere on the Iseq, Total Produce shed 5 per cent to €0.38 after the company said it was considering purchasing its own shares, prompting expectation that such a transaction is imminent.

Few companies ended the day in the black yesterday, though Irish Continental rose 0.6 per cent to €15.