Germany may follow France with aid for Airbus clients

Germany is considering financial aid for clients of aerospace giant Airbus struggling to raise capital from banks, a junior minister told AFP on Tuesday.

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"We are discussing with the KfW (Germany's state-owned development bank) and other banks a model to ease financing," Peter Hintze, state-secretary at the economy ministry to the news agency.

The exact form of the aid has not yet been decided, Hintze said, but would likely be "based on export guarantees."

Berlin's announcement follows a decision by France on Monday to order its banks to lend €5 billion ($6.5 billion dollars) to airlines and transport firms to help them pay for European-built planes.

Meanwhile head of parent company EADS, Louis Gallois, encouraged other European countries to do the same, French daily Le Figaro reported on Tuesday.