Bankia, the Spanish lender whose property losses pushed Spain to seek a bailout for its banking industry last year, posted a nine-month profit of €362m on lower impairment charges.

Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, said its Irish loan impairment charge was cut by half to £897m (€1.115bn) in the first six months compared with a year earlier as the pace of increase of home-loan arrears slowed.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Britain’s largest state-controlled lender, may need to set aside additional provisions to cover rising mortgage losses at Ulster Bank over the next two years, according to Espirito Santo Investment Bank.

The FTSE 100 Index made further gains today despite increasing oil prices as traders predicted strong economic data from the US.