European Lenders Limp Into 2017 After $12.5 Billion Settlements

Relief that Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group AG cleared legal hurdles is likely to soon give way to concern over a bigger problem: European lenders are still struggling to make money. While the combined $12.5 billion in settlements the two agreed to pay to resolve U.S. investigations into sales of toxic debt put one dispute behind them, they also highlighted how handicapped their businesses are in generating increased profits — nowhere more than in Italy, which agreed overnight to pump 20 billion euros into its banks.