Weak banks push Europe shares to 1-mth closing low

* FTSEurofirst 300 down 1.2 pct, hits 1-month closing low

* Financials among top losers, UBS slips 5.8 pct on results

* Energy, mining shares fall; automaker BMW down 6.3 pct

By Atul Prakash

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - European shares hit a one-month closing low on Tuesday as disappointing results from Swiss lender UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) and a move by Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) to join a government scheme hurt financials.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 1.2 percent down at 968.93 points, the lowest closing level since early October. The index, which slumped 45 percent last year, is still up 16 percent in 2009 and has surged 50 percent since hitting a record low in early March.

The VDAX-NEW volatility index rose to a six-week high. The higher the index, which is based on sell and buy options on Frankfurt's top-30 stocks <0#.GDAXI>, the lower is the desire for risk.

Financials were among the biggest losers. The DJ STOXX European bank index , which has spiked 150 percent since hitting a floor in March, was down 3 percent after touching its lowest level since mid-August.

"People are worried about the banking sector once again because we have had a couple of European results that were somewhat worse than expected," said Luc Van Hecka, chief economist at KBC Securities.