Shares in European banks were battered in early trade on Monday following an unprecedented weekend that saw the historic state-backed rescue of Credit Suisse by UBS and a coordinated central bank effort to bolster the flow of cash around the world.

Shares in Credit Suisse fell over 63% while UBS Group shares were down 12.9%.

An index of bank stocks was down 5.8% at 0821 GMT.

Deutsche Bank dropped 10.9% and Commerzbank was last down 8.5%. French banks BNP Paribas and Societe Generale saw declines of around 8.2% and 7.5%, respectively.

Standard Chartered shares fell to bottom of the FTSE 350 index - down 7.7% - while Natwest and Barclays fell 7.8% and 7.4%, respectively. (Reporting by Lucy Raitano; Editing by Amanda Cooper)