The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Deutsche Bank and UBS Group beat forecasts again with second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, buoyed by a surge in trading activity and strong retail business as Europe's lenders extend a more than two-year-long recovery. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that in a busy day for bank results, Standard Chartered also delivered forecast-surpassing numbers and lifted its full-year income target on the back of surging revenue in wealth and global banking. European banks have enjoyed a remarkable resurgence in the past 2-1/2 years after more than a decade of rock-bottom interest rates and concerns about euro zone government debt, which soured investor sentiment toward their stocks. The sector is now one of the best performing in Europe, with the STOXX Europe Banks index at its highest since late 2007 and up 143 per cent since early 2024, as higher rates boost interest income and loan demand swells despite continued weakness of the region's economy. UBS booked a 17-per-cent jump in second-quarter profit and said it planned to buy back shares worth $3-billion (U.S.) by the middle of next year. Britain's Barclays and France's BNP Paribas last week also beat forecasts.