DEUTSCHE BANK

UBS outdid rivals thanks to strong investment banking revenues and shrinking client outflows, while Deutsche Bank held ground after a drop in loan loss provisions.

The euro ticked up toward a two-month peak above $1.3000 on Tuesday, although traders were cautious about bidding it up too much as they await clarity on Deutsche Bank's exposure to euro zone sovereign debt. Deutsche Bank has not revealed its exposure to euro zone sovereign debt following tests to see how well banks in the region would stand up to financial shocks.

European banks who only just scraped through a health check could look for over 25 billion euros in new capital, while Spain's smaller lenders set out to reassure investors on Monday that they too can raise funds.

With the results of stress tests on 91 European banks looming, financial institutions have been coming up with their own scenarios of what to expect. How financial markets react to the results may well depend on the expectations currently being reached by analysts.

Some of Europe's biggest banks are in talks with Italy's UniCredit SpA about its proposal for a 20 billion euros ($25.2 billion) private sector fund to help failing lenders, a source close to the issue said.

Some of Europe's biggest banks are in talks with Italy's UniCredit SpA about its proposal for a 20 billion euros ($25.2 billion) private sector fund to help failing lenders, a source close to the issue said.

Some of Europe's biggest banks are in talks over a proposal by Italy's UniCredit SpA to create a 20 billion euros ($25.2 billion) private sector fund to help failing lenders, a source close to the issue said on Monday.

European shares gained ground on Thursday with investors scooping up battered banking stock as details of the sector's stress tests started to emerge, adding to a tentative recovery from a sharp two-week sell-off.

In an effort to reassure financial markets about the health of the European Union's banking system, the bloc's countries will stress-test a large number of their banks and publish the results.

The G20 has agreed to give banks more time to adopt tougher global rules in a concession that the body tasked with coordinating reforms said would both safeguard the recovery and ultimately lead to stronger banks.

World leaders put the finishing touches on plans to build a more stable global economy on Sunday but backed away from one-size-fits-all pledges as two years of crisis give way to an uneven recovery.

Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Josef Ackermann cast doubt on Greece's ability to repay its debt in a TV interview and said a $1 trillion euro zone rescue package will help stabilize Italy and Spain, while the situation in Portugal is more difficult.

Five U.S. banks and four European lenders are being investigated by U.S. authorities, as they widen their probe of the role of banks in past mortgage securities deals, according to news reports.

The New York attorney general has begun an investigation into eight banks to determine whether they provided misleading information to agencies that rate mortgage securities, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

Gold prices, which have rallied sharply in recent weeks on sovereign risk concerns, may be vulnerable to a sharp correction when the fear factor dies down.

China on Sunday raised the proportion of deposits that lenders must keep in reserve at the central bank, another step in its months-old campaign to mop up excess cash in the economy at a time when inflation is on the rise.

China on Sunday raised the proportion of deposits that lenders must keep in reserve at the central bank, another step in its months-old campaign to mop up excess cash in the economy at a time when inflation is on the rise. The People's Bank of China said it was lifting lenders' reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points, effective May 10, its third increase of that magnitude this year.

Barclays Plc's investment bank results failed to match the lofty growth shown by many rivals, knocking its shares and taking the shine off a 47 pct rise in group quarterly pretax profit.

Rating agency Standard and Poor's slashed Greek debt to junk status on Tuesday and also downgraded Portugal, as investors worried political pressures could block a multi-billion euro bailout of Greece.

Deutsche Bank delivered record investment bank earnings and European peers Lloyds and Swedbank swung to surprise profits on Tuesday as an economic recovery picked up to aid the embattled industry.

Deutsche Bank's investment bank posted forecast-beating record quarterly earnings, adding credibility to the lender's ambitious targets even as Wall Street faces a regulatory and legal hurricane.