European bank shares have been buoyed by recent liquidity injections from the European Central Bank, but is now the time to sell? At least one trader thinks so.
“The sector has had a very good run...[but] we think the charts are telling us now that the sector has turned around,” Darren Sinden, senior sales trader at Silverwind Securities, told CNBC.
The ECB injected more than $1 trillion in the markets by offering banks three-year loans at its record-low 1 percent interest rate under two long-term refinancing operations (LTRO) in December and February.
“The second tranche of LTRO money didn’t really have the impact that many in the market thought it would,” Sinden said, adding that the attention has now turned toward Spain.
“BBVA is something of a proxy for the weaker banking system [in Spain],” he added. “We think there’s a chance [BBVA shares] could come back to 5.45 euros ($7.25).”
BBVA shares lost more than 2 percent in Monday’s trading session in Europe.
“Spanish banks[are] exposed to around 400 billion euros of property debt,” Sinden warned. “It’s hard enough to make return on equity for banks at the moment. If you’re a Spanish bank it’s double trouble, and that’s why we are a strong seller of BBVA.”
Additional News: LTRO a ‘Crutch’ for European Banks: StanChart Asia CEO
Additional Views: 20% Upside in Europe, US Banks: Analyst
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Disclosures:
Darren Sinden does not hold BBVA shares.
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