European banks’ bumper quarter raises prospect of windfall taxes
Europe’s largest banks generated huge profits on the back of rising interest rates in the third quarter, raising the prospect of governments targeting the lenders with windfall taxes.
Deutsche Bank reported one of its strongest quarterly performances since before the financial crisis on Wednesday morning and is on course for its best annual profits since 2009, while Barclays, Santander, UniCredit, Standard Chartered, HSBC and UBS all beat analysts’ estimates.
Higher interest rates — which typically boost bank earnings — were the main reason, while strong performance in fixed-income trading also helped lenders with large investment banks, such as Deutsche Bank and Barclays.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Olaf Storbeck
