European banks: works in progress So the Dax has hit an all-time high and the FTSE 100 is heading in the same direction. Even the CAC 40 has managed to rise 22 per cent in the past year. The equity markets are telling us that all is tickety-boo in Europe. But the banks do not seem to be sharing the joy. A slew of first-quarter bank earnings on Tuesday - from HSBC, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole and Commerzbank - told an altogether more difficult story. Most of the banks reported falling revenues, with dismal performances from some of their operating businesses. Revenues fell a 10th at Crédit Agricole's specialised finance operation, while at Commerzbank's Mittelstand business, income was down 8 per cent. Even HSBC, with its exposure to emerging markets and international trade, is finding life tricky. Revenues in both its commercial and investment banking businesses were broadly flat on the same quarter last year. So cost cutting is still in order across the sector. SocGen said that it would more than double the size of its savings plan, and now aims to cut €1.4bn, or 9 per cent of 2011 operating costs, by 2015. Commerzbank took a €500m charge as part of a plan to lose up to 6,000 staff over the next three years. And HSBC, which has cut $4bn of costs since May 2011, will give more detail on future savings in a presentation next week. But this is all just running to stand still. SocGen's cost-to-income ratio, at 63 per cent, is no better than it was at the same stage in 2011. At Commerzbank costs are eating up more income than was the case two years ago, with the ratio at 70 per cent. HSBC did improve over the period - its cost-to-income ratio was a very respectable 53 per cent in the first quarter. The share prices of all four banks rose on Tuesday, with SocGen enjoying a 7 per cent pop as its numbers beat forecasts. But this is still a sector being forced into cost cuts by weak revenue generation. That is hardly a cause for celebration.