Tuesday, December 09, 2008
VW seeks State funding guarantees
HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) -- Volkswagen has sought state guarantees from Berlin for its financial services and banking units, Europe's biggest carmaker said on Tuesday, becoming the first manufacturer to take such a step in Germany.
The guarantees would cover refinancing of car loans, a VW spokesman said without specifying what amount of guarantees it was seeking from the government's nearly 500 billion euro ($642.7 billion) package to stabilize the financial sector.
Premium carmaker BMW said it was still deciding whether to seek guarantees for its banking unit, while rival Daimler said it had no plans for such a step at this stage but may now reconsider its position.
General Motors' German business Opel last month sought 1 billion euros in guarantees from the German federal reserve.
The guarantees would cover refinancing of car loans, a VW spokesman said without specifying what amount of guarantees it was seeking from the government's nearly 500 billion euro ($642.7 billion) package to stabilize the financial sector.
Premium carmaker BMW said it was still deciding whether to seek guarantees for its banking unit, while rival Daimler said it had no plans for such a step at this stage but may now reconsider its position.
General Motors' German business Opel last month sought 1 billion euros in guarantees from the German federal reserve.
DATED: 09.12.08
FEED: ANE
