European shares edged up on Friday, buoyed by the banking sector after Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank settled mortgage securities fraud suits with the United States, and as Italy’s Monte dei Paschi agreed to a bailout.
The STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.1 per cent at 0811GMT, with banks up 0.4 per cent, the top sectoral riser.
Deutsche Bank rose 4 per cent, the biggest gainer on the index.
It agreed to a $7.2-billion settlement with the United States over its sale and pooling of toxic mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, while the Justice Department had been seeking nearly twice as much.
Credit Suisse rose 2 per cent after also settling with the US DoJ, while RBS, which is being investigated, rose 2.4 per cent on hopes that its final settlement might be lower than expected.
Barclays underperformed, down 0.5 per cent, as the DoJ launched a lawsuit against the bank over its sale of mortgage-backed securities. The bank said it rejected the complaint.
Italian lenders rose 1.4 percent after the Italian government agreed to bail out Monte dei Paschi, although shares in the bank itself were suspended from trading.