Press Release: State aid: Commission approves German asset relief scheme

The European Commission approved, under EC Treaty state aid rules, a German scheme designed to stabilise the financial markets by providing financial institutions with the possibility of asset relief, as an addition to the German rescue package authorised by the Commission in October 2008. The mechanism was in line with the Commission's Guidance Communication on the treatment of impaired assets. In particular, the mechanism provided ex-ante transparency and disclosure of impairments, valuation of the assets based on their real economic value, a burden sharing of the costs related to the operation and adequate remuneration. Moreover, the enrolment period for asset relief is limited to six months.