Berlin - The German government and Germany's leading banks and insurance companies agreed late Sunday to expand a bail-out for troubled mortgage lender Hypo Real Estate 
(HRE).

They agreed to a bail-out that would run 50 billion euros (68 billion dollars).

The measure supercedes an earlier HRE rescue plan that fell apart when other banks pulled out of the deal. That package had a price tag of 35 billion euros.

HRE would receive a credit line of 30 billion euros, according to the German Finance Ministry.

HRE, which mainly lends to commercial projects and to build public facilities such as airports and roads, is the biggest German casualty of the crisis that has spread from New York in the last month.

Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck had earlier said he was "outraged" at the management of the HRE group because a "further liquidity gap in billions (of euros)" had materialized.

"The German government refuses to be forced into any co- responsibility by this banking institute," he said.

HRE fell into crisis after its Dublin-based subsidiary Depfa ran out of cash. (dpa)