By Scott Kanowsky 

-- European banking stocks slumped sharply on Wednesday, as concerns over potentially widespread contagion from the downfall of Silicon Valley Bank persisted and embattled lender was hit by an announcement that its biggest shareholder was halting further capital injections.

As of 06:32 EST (10:32 GMT), the index, which has been in focus recently as traders fretted over the health of lenders' bond holdings following the collapse of SVB last week, had dipped by nearly 5%.

France's Societe Generale (EPA:) and peer BNP Paribas (EPA:) dropped by over 10% each. (AS:) in the Netherlands, Spain's (BME:), as well as German lenders (ETR:) and Commerzbank (ETR:), all saw losses of over 6%.

Meanwhile, shares in Credit Suisse Group AG (SIX:) shed more than two-tenths of their value and touched a fresh record low after the lender's top stakeholder, Saudi National Bank (TADAWUL:), ruled out offering more assistance. The company had previously flagged this week that its auditor had found "material weaknesses" in its financial reporting controls.