European shares rise after Greek vote, banks rally

LONDON Feb 13 (Reuters) - Banking shares led European stocks higher early on Monday after the Greek parliament approved measures needed to secure an international bailout and avoid a chaotic default that would dent market confidence in the euro zone.

The European banking shares index gained 1.6 percent, led by euro zone lenders exposed to debt-laden peripheral countries, such as Commerzbank and Societe Generale, up 4.2 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

"People were losing patience with Greece. In the end they got their act together and it's definitely a positive," Markus Huber, head of German sales trading at ETX Capital, said.

At 0807 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.8 percent at 1,072.77 points.

The index had fallen 0.9 percent on Friday, taking it to its steepest weekly fall in nearly two months after Greece's international lenders said they needed to see more steps from Athens before releasing the rescue package.