Shares Slide as Bank of England expects the UK economy to go into recession due to the Coronavirus Pandemic

The Bank of England has warned of a looming recession as shares in the UK’s biggest banks fell heavily on this morning amid COVID-19 uncertainty with shares in HSBC falling 7.4%, Barclays lost 4.6% and Standard Chartered was down 6.2%, the FTSE 100 posted its largest quarterly fall since the Black Monday aftermath October the 19th, 1987.

Britain’s largest banks have agreed to scrap nearly £8bn worth of dividends in light of the coronavirus crisis, giving banks an additional cushion to weather an economic downturn.

The FTSE 100 (UKX) dipped nearly 4% in London after major UK banks canceled dividend payments after regulators asked them to prioritize help for struggling businesses and households

In a series of coordinated statements, the UK’s largest lenders – including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered confirmed on Tuesday that they would temporarily halt shareholder payouts and share buybacks for 2019 and throughout 2020 following discussions with the Bank.

The cancellation of the 2019 dividends will give the banks an additional financial cushion worth nearly £8bn in total, as they are pushed to increase lending to businesses and households during the Covid-19 lockdown.

American stocks also plunged