UPDATE 1-German fin min: no chance of US boosting IMF funds

* Europe may boost IMF funding by up to 200 bln euros

* Schaeuble says Washington can't boost contribution

* Bundesbank had tied more aid to non-EU fund boost (Adds comments on Bundesbank position, UK and China)

BERLIN, Dec 19 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble sees no chance of the United States increasing its contribution to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help Europe because of opposition in Congress, he told German radio on Monday.

Euro zone leaders have agreed to offer 150 billion euros in bilateral loans to the IMF to raise its crisis-fighting capacity and the bloc's finance ministers hold a teleconference on Monday from 1430 GMT which will include talks on the size of individual loans.

Markets are looking for evidence that the euro zone has sufficient funds at its disposal to protect big states such as Italy or Spain if they are unable to borrow fresh funds.

Up to an additional 50 billion euros expected from non-euro European countries and possibly more from outside Europe, but the White House said last Friday the Washington-based Fund had "substantial resources" for dealing with the euro crisis and American taxpayers would not contribute any more.

"Washington cannot make bilateral loans available to the IMF without Congress approving it, that's the way it's done in the United States. And there's no chance of that and the American government has always made that clear," said Schaeuble.

Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann said in a letter to Schaeuble last week he would be prepared to provide additional bilateral loans of up to 45 billion euros to the IMF, if other European Union and non-EU countries also helped.

"If, for example, the U.S. and other important donors say they will not participate, then, from our viewpoint, it will be uncomfortably close to state financing ... ," Weidmann elaborated later in the week.

In an interview in French newspaper Les Echos on Monday, Weidmann appeared to soften that stance, saying the Bundesbank would contribute if funds were placed in the "general" account of the IMF rather than a special facility for the euro zone.

Schaeuble confirmed that what was being discussed was boosting "the general funding of the IMF", rather than any indirect boost of state funding to euro zone bailout funds via the IMF, meaning the Bundesbank would not have any problems with it.

"Since the debt crisis broke out in some euro zone countries last year the IMF has take part very generously in attempts to stabilise Europe...," he said.

"If this is to continue, the IMF's funding has to be bolstered and Europe has said it is ready to provide up to 200 billion in additional loans in order to boost the IMF's general funding," said the German minister.

He added that non-euro member Britain had committed to making a contribution while China's position was not yet clear, "but China has not mentioned any conflicting position". (Reporting by Stephen Brown and Noah Barkin)