Munich - German mortgage bank Hypo Real Estate has been rescued in a last-minute deal by a consortium of banks to resolve a refinancing squeeze it faced, the group said early on Monday.

Emergency talks yielded a result with a group of German banks extending credit that will tide the group over. Hypo did not name the banks or say how much of a loan it got.

Hypo was earlier in urgent talks with German banking regulator Bafin and the finance ministry seeking a solution for its problems

Germany's second-biggest commercial-property lender, a blue chip on the Dax, had fallen victim to speculation by its German-Irish unit Depfa.

Depfa had pursued long-term projects with heavy loans and generally ensured refinancing only at the last minute, which is now no longer possible.

Hypo said it had entered into talks with the banks "in response to the extremely challenging conditions on the international money markets following the Lehman collapse and other market disruptions." (dpa)