European markets are all up and running, and there are few signs of life - apart from the banks, of course (see earlier note). The FTSE 100 has merely fluttered an eyebrow - down 0.17 points at 7,061.98. Paris and Frankfurt aren't up to much, either. The pound has fallen a touch against the dollar and the euro to $1.22740 and €1.1759. And it all shuts up shop at lunchtime. Early doors at 12.30. 

Deutsche Bank: Investors have piled in to the stock this morning, after its settlement with the US Department of Justice. The share price jumped more than 4%. The bank's $7.2bn deal is far below the $14bn it was feared Deutsche would pay earlier this year.

Barclays: Muted reaction to news the DoJ is suing it for alleged mortgage fraud. The shares opened 0.4% down.

Credit Suisse: Another stock to benefit from relief that a huge shadow over the company is removed. The shares are up 2% after the DoJ settlement over claims the Swiss bank misled investors.

Royal Bank of Scotland: Still to resolve its battle with the DoJ. But investors clearly feel a - possibly less punitive - settlement is near. The shares are up 2.5%.

BBC Radio 4

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A common feature of today's bank settlements with the US Department of Justice is that significant sums have been set aside to recompense investors.

Of the $7.2bn that Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay over mis-selling mortgage-backed securities, $4.1bn will go to investors as "consumer relief". Credit Suisse will pay $2.8bn to consumers over five years as part of its $5.3bn settlement.

Chris Wheeler, banking analyst at Atlantic Equities, says: "This is very important. The US wants to be seen as fair. If it is going to go after these big banks, they've got to not just see the US take money from them, they must see some money go back to the people who bought [mortgage-backed securities], be it institutional investors, the big fund managers, the big pension fund or be it individuals."

Theo Leggett
BBC Business News Reporter

A bailout for Monte dei Paschi was almost inevitable. The question now is how the government contains the political fallout. 

The bank, which has been crippled by years of losses and loans that may never be repaid, could not be allowed to collapse. That could have triggered further failures in Italy, and potentially started a new European banking crisis. 

But EU rules designed to protect taxpayers insist that banking investors now bear some of the costs of rescuing troubled lenders. 

In Italy, those who stand to lose money as a result include tens of thousands of ordinary savers. The government says they will be compensated. 

Analysts warn that a failure to do so could provoke political unrest, potentially undermining the government, and playing into the hands of anti-establishment parties. 

It could also weaken other banks if savers rushed to withdraw their cash. 

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Chris Wheeler, banking analyst at Atlantic Equities, makes an interesting point about Barclays.

He says that much of the business at the centre of the Justice Department's complaint about Barclays involves the legacy Lehman Brothers assets that the UK bank bought for $1.75bn in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis.

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What a morning for the banking industry. 

First Deutsche Bank, now Credit Suisse has agreed, external with US authorities to pay $5.3bn to settle claims it misled investors over mortgage-backed financial products it sold in the run up to the financial crisis eight years ago.

The Swiss bank has agreed to pay $2.48bn to settle the claims and will pay $2.8bn in consumer relief over five years from the settlement.  

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While it is undoubtedly good news that Deutsche Bank has settled with the US Department of Justice, the $7.2bn it has agreed to pay, external is not quite the sum that was expected.

The DoJ originally threatened Deutsche with a $14bn settlement. However, it was speculated that the two were discussing a payment closer to $5bn. Jasper Lawler, senior market analyst at London Capital Group, wonders if the DoJ has read "Negotiating 101".

Chris Ralph, chief investment officer at St James Place, says: "They've got a reasonable deal but it is not quite as good as hoped." But he adds: "The important thing is that they put this behind them." 

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The opening salvos in the Barclays mortgage fraud claim would suggest the two sides are digging in for a long fight.

"With this filing, we are sending a clear message that the Department of Justice will not tolerate the defrauding of investors and the American people," US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement that announced it was suing Barclays.

The UK bank fired back: "We have an obligation to our shareholders, customers, clients, and employees to defend ourselves against unreasonable allegations and demands.

"Barclays will vigorously defend the complaint and seek its dismissal at the earliest opportunity."

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While Deutsche Bank has settled with the US Department of Justice, Barclays appears to be digging its heels in over how much it is willing to pay to settle claims it mis-sold mortgage-backed financial products.  

Chris Ralph, chief investment officer at St James Place, notes that this is not a negotiation. Rather, the DoJ is suing Barclays. 

He tells the BBC's Today programme: "Clearly Barclays felt they were not quite as guilty as some of the other American banks." 

He says that Barclays has pointed out that it didn't "take positions" against its own customers and that the bank itself suffered losses.

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Stocks across Asia are heading lower as the last week before Christmas wraps up this Friday. With US markets closing down, Asia followed suit and investors seem unwilling to make any commitments before the holidays. 

The region's biggest market, Japan's Nikkei 225 is closed the for a holiday, but on the week the index is 0.1% higher - its seventh straight week of gains and the longest winning streak since early 2013.  

In Australia, the ASX 200 fell 0.3% as lower commodity prices hurt miners, while financial stocks also saw some losses. 

South Korea's benchmark Kospi also saw subdued trading, and ended the day flat.

Chinese markets are still open, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong down by 0.5% and the Shanghai Composite losing 0.9%

Interesting footnote to the Deutsche Bank settlement story from Bloomberg. Donald Trump, it would appear, may have a $300m conflict of interest with the German financial giant, external, the news agency reports.

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It's going to be the biggest shopping day of 2016, and traditionally a time of year when consumers trade up. So says Catherine Shuttleworth, founder of retail and shopper marketing agency Savvy Marketing, which advises some of the country's biggest brands.

Waitrose will do about three times more trade than on a normal Friday, she tells Wake up to Money. And she expects Marks & Spencer to do "fantastically well".

But will the massive queues across supermarkets and shops today improve the financial bottom line. "Whether the margins and profits will be good is a very different question," she says. 

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Italy's cabinet has approved a state-bailout for the country's third-largest bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena. But it's a political solution as much as a financial one, says Chris Ralph, chief investment officer at St James's Place.

He tells Wake up to Money that there are about 40,000 retail investors in Monte who have seen the value of their holdings collapse. "The government had to offer them some way out," he says.