A group of EU banks aims to have the European Payments Initiative, a payment system meant to challenge Visa and Mastercard, fully operational by 2025. The group of 22 banks from seven nations includes Banco de Sabadell, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, ING, Societe Generale and UniCredit.

A group of banks led by UniCredit has approved a $97 million revolving credit facility for Berlin-based startup GetYourGuide, which provides tour guides and other services for travelers. The new capital will allow the company to go "sprinting out of the gates" when the travel business picks up again, said Nils Chrestin, chief financial officer.

Deutsche Bank is joining the ranks of HSBC, BNP Paribas and UniCredit by agreeing to tie management pay to the achievement of environmental, social and governance investment targets. "It is our ambition to be a leader on sustainability in the financial sector, and contribute to an environmentally sound, socially inclusive and well-governed world," said CEO Christian Sewing.

RESB Murmurs: I wonder how or if this proposed rule from the OCC could affect this new bank policy -Karen

Jean Pierre Mustier, chief executive of Italian bank Unicredit, says European banks need a clear lead on the question of issuing dividends, so the sector can attract investor capital. The European Central Bank instruction at the height of the coronavirus crisis for banks to freeze payouts and use their profits as a capital buffer was wise, Mustier said, but there is now a need for banking to be seen as a "truly investible sector."