Berlin  - German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck on Sunday ruled out the creation of a "bad bank" to take toxic assets from the nation's major financial institutions.

Such a bank would need to be funded by at least 150-200 billion euros (198-260 billion dollars) of taxpayers' money, the minister told the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"How could I take such a proposal to the federal parliament," he asked. "The nation would think we've gone crazy."

Brussels  - Germany is already doing its share and will not spend more money to help lift the European Union out of recession, the country's finance minister, Peer Steinbrueck, said Monday.

"Germany is putting 31 billion euros (39.5 billion dollars) on the table. That is 1.25 per cent of our gross domestic product. I am not sure everyone has properly registered this," Steinbrueck said in Brussels.

Steinbrueck and his fellow eurozone ministers were holding a first discussion on the European Commission's economic recovery plan, which will have to be approved by heads of state and government at a summit due to take place on December 11-12.

Washington  - Germany is examining the carmaker Opel's request for government credit guarantees, Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said.

"We are looking into it to see whether it's appropriate," Steinbrueck said Friday night in Washington on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit of developed and emerging economies.

Berlin - German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck has warned that financial markets face a long crisis, and some German politicians stepped up calls Saturday for pump priming to avert an economic slump.

In remarks to appear Sunday in the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, Steinbrueck said, "The danger of a collapse is still not gone. Any all-clear signal would be wrong."

Berlin - German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck called for calm Tuesday, although he acknowledged a "very difficult and serious situation" on world financial markets.

Germany's DAX index of the leading 30 shares declined 1.6 per cent on opening to fall to 5,970, following Asian markets into negative territory.

Speaking ahead of the start of the 2009 budget debates in the German lower house of parliament, Steinbrueck insisted the effects of the financial crisis on the German real economy would be "limited."

Nice, France - The European Union's finance ministers Saturday piled pressure on banks and insurance companies to provide greater transparency in the wake of the global financial turmoil.

At an informal meeting in the French seaside city of Nice, ministers said "measures designed to restore confidence through transparency and the responsibility of the actors will be put in place without delay."

The EU's internal market commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, is due to unveil a set of proposals aimed at improving the transparency of financial market operators in October.

Though details are as yet unclear, the proposals are expected to include a set of requirements for credit rating agencies wishing to operate in the EU.