* European shares follow Asia down as bank fears resurface
* Nikkei down 2.2 percent after yen hits 15-year high
* Bank worries push euro to record lows vs Swiss franc, A$
* Retreat from risk boosts gold, hits oil
By Alex Richardson
SINGAPORE, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, led by shares in Japan's big exporters as a rise in the yen to a new 15-year high threatened to erode their overseas earnings.
Major European stock markets followed Asia lower and the euro was on the defensive, after renewed fears about the euro zone banking system drove the single currency to life lows against the Swiss franc and Australian dollar and hurt financial stocks. [.L] [.EU]
"I think we can still see some skeletons in the closet in the European banking sector," said David Cohen, an economist at Action Economics in Singapore.
Japan's Nikkei <.N225> fell 2.2 percent, with major exporters prominent among the decliners. Electronics parts makers Kyocera <6971.T> and TDK <6762.T> both fell more than 3 percent and chip-tester maker Advantest <6857.T> lost 4.4 percent. [.T]
"With the yen's advance accelerating and worries about credit risks in Europe heightening, the market is pressured by investor concern about risk-taking," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> eased 0.5 percent.
Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE> fell 0.5 percent at the opening and Germany's Dax <.GDAXI> and France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> both lost 0.3 percent. The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> of leading regional shares eased 0.1 percent before edging back into positive territory.
U.S. S&P 500 futures
Worries about Europe's banks resurfaced on Tuesday, when the Wall Street Journal reported that some major lenders had understated holdings in potentially risky government debt during "stress tests" designed to test their ability to weather crises.
Ireland added to the jittery mood, extending its guarantees for short-term bank liabilities amid fears over the escalating cost of bailing out nationalised lender Anglo Irish [ANGIB.UL]. [ID:nLDE6861YN]
PAIN THRESHOLD
The dollar fell to its lowest since 1995 against the yen
"The only source of strength in the Japanese economy is exports," said Michael Hasenstab, Franklin Templeton's co-director of international bonds, arguing more quantitative easing steps by Japan were possible and could weaken the yen.
"And with the yen sub-90, they (policymakers) will be under extreme pressure" to act, he told the Reuters Dealing Room online chatroom.
Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa reiterated on Wednesday his reluctance to return to quantitative easing, but indicated the central bank was weighing its options on how to deal with the economic impact of the surging yen. [nTOE687026]
The dollar dipped as far as 83.34 yen
"The euro looks precarious again. The dollar will be weak ahead of the mid-term election. That leaves the yen as the only currency to buy, especially after Shirakawa made only vague comments about the yen," a U.S. bank trader said.
The euro was pinned at $1.2720
Traders are now looking for a test of support around $1.2625, though they were not keen to go long of the U.S. currency either given concerns about the country's faltering economic recovery.
"It's the same old ugly contest -- which currency is the least unattractive," said a dealer at a local bank in Sydney.
Analysts at BNY Mellon, who track investor flows in and out of currencies, reported net outflows from the euro and the U.S. dollar. Wall Street stocks were almost as unpopular as sovereign bonds from the hard pressed euro zone "periphery" such as Greece and Ireland.
A broad retreat from riskier assets boosted safe-haven gold
and dented oil, with spot gold
"As soon as there is some fear of risk of a double-dip, people pull out of commodities and equities," said Tony Nunan, a risk manager with Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp.
"People feel that oil demand will pick up as the economy picks up, but they have been braving that for six months thinking that inventory would eventually draw down."
Total U.S. petroleum stockpiles are at their highest since weekly records began in 1990. (To read Reuters Global Investing Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting; for the MacroScope Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/macroscope; for Hedge Fund Blog Hub click on http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub)