[Reuters] STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Euro zone banks back to pre-LTRO level
[.SX7E HSBA.L BNPP.PA CBKG.DE CSGN.VX CRDI.MI SWEDa.ST] The STOXX euro zone bank index <.SX7E>, made up of lenders such as BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, UniCredit <CRDI.MI> and Commerzbank <CBKG.DE>, tumbles 3.6 percent to a five-month low, as investors continue to dump shares of banks seen as the most vulnerable to the region's sovereign debt crisis. The sector index has slumped 27 percent in about a month, wiping out all the gains made during the rally sparked by the European Central Bank's first long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) in mid-December. Euro zone banks have also been strongly underperforming other European peers such as Swedbank <SWEDa.ST>, up 13 percent so far in 2012, HSBC <HSBA.L>, up 11 percent, and Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX>, up 4.9 percent