Sunday, October 26, 2008

German minister: Crisis far from over

BERLIN

Germany's finance minister said in comments published Sunday that global financial markets could still collapse and that the situation remains dangerous despite government efforts to bailout lending institutions.

"The danger of a collapse is far from over. Any `all clear' would be wrong," Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck told the Bild am Sonntag weekly. "We are still dealing with a very dangerous situation."

Germany approved a 500 billion euro ($675 billion) rescue package for the country's financial markets on Oct. 17. So far only one bank, the state-owned BayernLB, has requested assistance. Two other state-owned banks, WestLB and HSH Nordbank, indicated over the weekend they were considering seeking assistance.

Apture