Beware discount bank shares as European crisis engulfs sector

`` HSBC is trading at a 46pc discount to its net asset value of around 770p, Barclays is at a 50pc discount to its 280p book value, Standard Chartered has the biggest discount at 63pc to its £12 book value, and RBS is trading at a 35pc discount to its 320p book value. Only Lloyds is trading at a premium of around 24pc to its 53p book value... Value investors thinking of picking up bank shares on the cheap would be advised to wait until later in the year when we have a clearer idea of Britain's continuing role in the EU, and the condition of European bank balance sheets. ''