Lyxor, a leading European provider of exchange-traded funds, has expanded its range of sector-focused ETFs with the launch of the Lyxor UCITS ETF Euro Stoxx Banks (BNKE).

Lyxor’s latest ETF offers dedicated exposure to eurozone banks.

The new ETF, which has been listed on the NYSE Euronext, provides exposure to banks based in the eurozone.

The fund is linked to the Euro Stoxx Banks Index, a subset of the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

The index currently contains 28 eurozone banks including names such as Banco Santander , BNP Paribas, BBVA, Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale, Unicredit, Intesa Sanpaolo, Commerzbank, Credit Agricole and KBC.

Spain has largest representation in the index, with 37.74%, followed by France with 25.66%, Italy with 17.75%, Germany with 11.52% and Belgium with 2.24%. Banks from Austria, Portugal, Ireland and Finland make up the remainder of the index.

The fund offers investors a vehicle to potentially benefit from the improving environment for the region’s banks and expected further re-rating of the sector.

Indeed, according to Lyxor, structural improvements in the eurozone such as an end to external deficits, a much better balance between fiscal tightness and accelerating structural reforms make eurozone financial assets particularly attractive.

As consequence, the Paris-headquartered asset manager believes the financial sector will be a key player for 2014, adding that the European Central Bank should continue to be supportive for the sector and the Asset Quality Review could help to increase investors’ confidence in the zone’s banks.

The fund is UCITS compliant and has a total expense ratio of 0.30%.