* FTSEurofirst 300 index rises 0.8 percent
* Banks surge on lengthy Basel III transition period
* Miners gain on positive Chinese data
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By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - European shares gained on Monday, with a key index hitting its highest level since April, led by banks as regulators gave lenders more time to raise capital for Basel III and miners up on strong Chinese data.
The STOXX Europe 600 banking index gained 1.7 percent, with Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas up 1.8 to 6.3 percent.
Global regulators agreed on Sunday to force banks to more than triple the amount of top-quality capital they must hold in reserve but gave the lenders transition periods, extending in some cases to January 2019 or later, to comply with the rules.
By 0848 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was 0.8 percent higher at 1,090.04 points -- its highest level since late April.
"Equity markets are higher on a combination of two factors. We had the Basel III meeting, with banks stronger in Europe on that," said Kishan Mandalia, sales trader at City Index.
"We also had some strong data out of China and so the miners are up."
Chinese factories ramped up production in August and money growth easily topped expectations, showing that the economy remained buoyant despite government efforts to clamp down on bank lending and property speculation.
Miners were higher as the Chinese data boosted demand prospects for the sector. Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata rose 1.8 to 2.8 percent.
PRUDENTIAL RISES
UK insurer Prudential gained 3.6 percent after the Sunday Times newspaper reported that a group of Chinese investors are in early stages of considering a takeover offer for the British company.
On the downside, Germany's Deutsche Postbank slipped 6.6 percent after Deutsche Bank said it plans to raise at least 9.8 billion euros ($12.4 billion) to buy the rest of Deutsche Postbank, reducing its reliance on investment banking as tough new bank capital rules loom.
"You can now safely take your profits on Postbank given that Deutsche Bank's bid will be in the range of 24-25 (euros)," said Michael Rohr, analyst at Silvia Quandt Research in Frankfurt.
"Those who do not tender now should know that this offer frees Deutsche Bank from any future mandatory bid, hence upside should be limited even in the long run."
Technical's provided a bullish picture. The Euro STOXX 50, the euro zone's blue-chip index, gained 1.1 percent to 2,812.12 points, rising above the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement of the index's fall from an April high to a May low at 2,805.95 points for the first time since 10 August.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was 0.9 percent higher, Germany's DAX was up 0.7 percent and France's CAC 40 was 1.2 percent higher. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Hans Peters)