Vienna  - The Austrian government is to raise guarantees on savings deposits to prevent funds from flowing to Germany, with proposals for the measure to be presented at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, reports said Monday.

Austrian Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Wilhelm Molterer announced the proposal, which comes after similar moves by countries such as Germany, Greece and Nordic states, on television late Sunday,

From the perspective of Austrian banks, raising the guarantee would not have been necessary, Molterer said, as the country's financial institutions were "really good and stable."

Rather, the higher guarantees were meant to prevent savings funds from being shifted to Austria's northern neighbour Germany which decided Sunday to secure personal deposits, he explained.

Molterer was yet to say by how much the guarantee would be raised.

Currently the government protects private savings of up to 20,000 euros (27,500 dollars) per person. (dpa)