Steinbrueck sees new EU bank aid guidelines by December 8

Tue Dec 2, 2008 4:04pm GMT

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said on Tuesday he expected the European Commission to revise its guidelines on state aid for banks by December 8, ahead of a European Union summit shortly afterwards.

Steinbrueck added that a Commission requirement for banks to pay 10 percent interest on state aid was unacceptable.

Turning to Germany's dispute with the Commission over state aid for Commerzbank, Steinbrueck said he wanted the bank to receive "the same fair conditions as other banks."

"Commerzbank is something like a pacemaker for other German banks who might be interested and should be motivated to move under the (banking sector) umbrella we organised," he added.

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