And the index tracking European bank stocks is sitting at levels not seen since before Lehman Brothers became a cautionary tale. Net revenues came in at €8.5 billion, up 9% year-over-year, while pre-tax profit hit €2.7 billion, an 11% increase from the same period last year. AdvertisementUBS, meanwhile, posted a pre-tax profit of $3.6 billion, with underlying pre-tax profit reaching $3.9 billion. European banks were forecast to deliver an 11% year-on-year increase in Q2 pre-tax profits across the board, and the early reports suggest they’re meeting or beating that bar. Why traditional bank profits matter for crypto marketsThe primary driver behind these profit surges is the “higher for longer” interest rate environment.