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Shares in Allied Irish Bank (AIB) were down 16.7 per cent in early trading and the Bank of Ireland lost more than 14 per cent.
The confidence of investors has been shaken by Bank of Ireland's upward revision of its estimates of impaired loans last week, reports the Irish Times.
News has also emerged that Sean FitzPatrick, the former AIB chairman received tens of million worth of dollars and sterling as part of a loan transfer package.
It has also emerged that the Irish government is considering a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
The treaty was originally rejected by voters in a vote last June.
A recent poll found that just over half (51 per cent) of people would now support the treaty in a referendum.
