(Reuters) – Germany has reduced the size of its rescue fund for struggling companies to 60 billion euros from 115 billion euros because the economic crisis has proven less damaging than anticipated, a magazine reported on Saturday.
Weekly Der Spiegel said the 60 billion euros ($76 billion) in loans and guarantees available until the end of the year would suffice to cover any remaining applications for aid. The Economy Ministry was not immediately available for comment.
The reduction had come about because the crisis had not turned out to be “anything like” as severe as initially feared, the magazine said, citing unnamed government sources.
Created last year, when Germany suffered its worst post-war recession, the fund is due to be wound up at the close of 2010.
(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
