By Sarah Turner
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European shares declined on Wednesday, with banks losing ground again as investors continue to fret about the economic health of the region. Shares of BNP Paribas (FR:BNP 52.51, +0.67, +1.29%) lost 1.7% and Credit Agricole (FR:ACA 10.77, +0.26, +2.48%) shares fell 2.5%. Still, there were a few bright spots, with ING up 4.1% after the firm updated investors and Allianz up 1%. Mid-cap British shares held up a bit better than the overall market after the election of Conservative David Cameron as the new British prime minister following five days of wrangling. The FTSE 250 index lost 0.1% at 9,971.06. The U.K. FTSE 100 index declined 0.9% to 5,286.14, the German DAX index lost 0.5% to 6,009.30 and the French CAC-40 index fell 1.4% to 3,641.41.
