FRANKFURT, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Some 15 banks have asked the German government for funds to help their business, Handelsblatt said, citing Otto Bernhardt, a parliamentary finance policy spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.
"If these are waved through, then more than half of the 80 billion euros ($114.7 billion) reserved for this purpose will be gone," Bernhardt told the daily in an interview to be published on Tuesday.
The German government set up a financial industry rescue fund, SoFFin, that has available 400 billion euros in loan guarantees and 80 billion euros in state funds to recapitalise banks.
So far only Commerzbank (CBKG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) has publicly asked for funds and has been granted 8.2 billion euros, while its peers have requested only state loan guarantees. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by David Cowell)
