"In my view, we will feel the effects in the financial sector for the whole of this year and possibly into 2009," Steinbrueck told top-selling Bild newspaper.
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said on Thursday the credit crisis would affect the financial sector through this year and possibly into next.
"In my view, we will feel the effects in the financial sector for the whole of this year and possibly into 2009," Steinbrueck told top-selling Bild newspaper.
He also said Germany's Landesbanks, the regional lenders that serve savings banks, needed to consolidate.
"In the area of the state banks we urgently need a consolidation and a successful business model. We have too many and too small state banks," said Steinbrueck, adding it should not be the case that state banks lose out on investments in risky U.S. mortgages.
!ADVERTISEMENT!Germany has been among the worst affected by the credit market crisis, which triggered the near collapse of regional bank SachsenLB -- now called Sachsen Bank -- and small-company lender IKB <IKBG.DE>.
Steinbrueck also called for spending discipline so the federal government could meet its goal of achieving a balanced budget in 2011.
He defended a planned increase in pensions, arguing the government had to send a signal to pensioners that they could participate in the upturn in Europe's biggest economy.
(Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
