Germany to detail banks rescue plan on Monday

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will not publish details of a rescue package for the country's banks until Monday, a Finance Ministry spokesman said on Sunday.

According to German business daily Handelsblatt, the government plans to create a special fund to provide equity capital worth up to 100 billion euros (78 billion pounds) to help its banks cope with the fallout from the financial crisis.

"Details of the German plans will not be announced today," ministry spokesman Torsten Albig said. "We will inform (parliament) tomorrow before we go public."

Citing sources close to talks on the matter, the newspaper said the fund was part of a package worth around 300-400 billion euros which is also set to include interbank guarantees or direct loans.

German media said the cabinet planned to make a decision about the British-style package on Monday, and aimed to enact the measures as soon as possible via a fast-tracked law.

"The aim is for an orderly but quick legislative process aimed at averting risks for our economy," Albig added.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to make a statement on Germany's plans at an emergency meeting in Paris of leaders from the 15 nations that use the euro currency later on Sunday.

Following a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Saturday, Merkel said Germany might inject capital into its banks but was not planning to take permanent stakes in them. There would be "clarity" on the German plans on Monday, she added.

Merkel and Sarkozy vowed to act in a coordinated manner, but ruled out an EU-wide bank rescue fund, an idea which EU officials say France originally floated but has since been scrapped in the face of opposition from Germany and others.