European banks' profit rebound signals revamps starting to pay off

Frankfurt

THE largest banks in the euro area posted their highest combined profit in more than four years, a sign that the beleaguered industry may be turning the corner.

The 10 biggest lenders by assets in the region earned 11.4 billion euros (S$17.2 billion) in net income in the second quarter, the most since the first three months of 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show. All the firms reported at least double-digit profit gains from a year earlier.