Munich - Kurt Viermetz, chairman of Hypo Real Estate (HRE), resigned Friday, 12 days after the German government backed a huge and troubled bail-out for the struggling mortgage lender.

He was the second senior man to leave the bank, under pressure from the German government and commercial banks, which claimed HRE had under-stated its exposure. The chief executive of HRE, Georg Funke resigned earlier this week.

Munich - As the bail-out of mortgage lender Hypo Real Estate (HRE) kicked into gear Wednesday, details emerged of its tussle with the German government.

Berlin was angry that HRE's complex corporate structure made it practically impossible for regulators to check up on HRE's true cash position during the crisis, officials said.

Meanwhile, a newspaper reported that HRE was preparing to sue German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck over remarks last week suggesting that HRE would be broken up.

Munich - German Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer won nomination Wednesday to become premier of the southern state of Bavaria, making his election a practical certainty.

The position was up for grabs after Guenther Beckstein announced last week that he would step down after a disastrous election setback for his conservative party, the Christian Social Union
(CSU).

The caucus of CSU state legislators picked Seehofer as their candidate to lead the state's next government, with 88 per cent in favour.

Munich - German Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer is poised to become prime minister of the southern state of Bavaria after his two rivals for the post pulled out Tuesday.

The position became is up for grabs after Guenther Beckstein announced last week that he would step down, making him the second casualty of a disastrous election setback for his conservative party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).

Munich - Hypo Real Estate, the German bank caught up in the past two weeks' wave of collapses, said Saturday the government-backed bail-out it was hoping for had collapsed.

The mortgage lender said assurances of loans from several other financial institutions had expired.

Munich-based Hypo Real Estate, which mainly lends to commercial projects and to build public facilities, said it was assessing the impact on its various divisions and was seeking alternatives.

Munich  - German industrial gases concern Linde AG disclosed Thursday that it has acquired the remaining 50 per cent equity of Australian company Elgas in a move boosting Linde's position.