**European bank shares are “very depressed,” making it an “attractive time” to invest, Soros said. Still, he said it is going to be a “very tough year” for lenders as they try to shrink balance sheets and boost their capital to pass the European Central Bank’s stress tests, he said.
The 43-member Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index trades at a 0.2 percent discount to book value, while the KBW Bank Index, which tracks 24 U.S. lenders, trades at a 14 percent premium, data compiled by Bloomberg show**.
Source: Bloomberg
