FRANKFURT, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Two more German regional state lenders, WestLB and HSH Nordbank, will probably follow BayernLB's lead and tap the federal government's bailout fund, spokesmen for both firms confirmed on Saturday.
WestLB management plans to propose to its supervisory board early next month that the lender -- owned by the state of Northrhein-Westphalia, local savings banks and the NRW Bank -- take advantage of all elements of the bailout fund.
'We are examining whether it is sensible and possible to receive a direct capital injection,' WestLB Chief Executive Heinz Hilgert said in comments published by Germany's Der Spiegel this weekend.
This would include unloading onto Berlin securities, such as student loans, auto financing and consumer credit from the United States, that likely require writedowns.
'The (Hilgert) quotes are correct,' a spokesman for WestLB said.
HSH Nordbank, in which U.S. investor J.C. Flowers owns a stake along with the state of Schleswig-Holstein and the city of Hamburg, is also looking for state aid.
A spokesman for HSH Nordbank said on Saturday: 'In principle, the management board has decided to make use of the rescue package.'
Bavarian public-sector bank BayernLB on Tuesday became the first German lender to ask for help from the government's 500 billion euro ($629.3 billion) rescue fund after being hit by third-quarter write-downs.
Germany's second-biggest landesbank, or regional wholesale bank, said it would tap the government fund for 5.4 billion euros to strengthen its capital base.
(Reporting by Kathrin Schich and Matthias Inverardi, editing by Anthony Barker) ($1=.7945 Euro) Keywords: BANKS GERMANY/ tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com vjt COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
WestLB management plans to propose to its supervisory board early next month that the lender -- owned by the state of Northrhein-Westphalia, local savings banks and the NRW Bank -- take advantage of all elements of the bailout fund.
'We are examining whether it is sensible and possible to receive a direct capital injection,' WestLB Chief Executive Heinz Hilgert said in comments published by Germany's Der Spiegel this weekend.
This would include unloading onto Berlin securities, such as student loans, auto financing and consumer credit from the United States, that likely require writedowns.
'The (Hilgert) quotes are correct,' a spokesman for WestLB said.
HSH Nordbank, in which U.S. investor J.C. Flowers owns a stake along with the state of Schleswig-Holstein and the city of Hamburg, is also looking for state aid.
A spokesman for HSH Nordbank said on Saturday: 'In principle, the management board has decided to make use of the rescue package.'
Bavarian public-sector bank BayernLB on Tuesday became the first German lender to ask for help from the government's 500 billion euro ($629.3 billion) rescue fund after being hit by third-quarter write-downs.
Germany's second-biggest landesbank, or regional wholesale bank, said it would tap the government fund for 5.4 billion euros to strengthen its capital base.
(Reporting by Kathrin Schich and Matthias Inverardi, editing by Anthony Barker) ($1=.7945 Euro) Keywords: BANKS GERMANY/ tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com vjt COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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