Berlin- Germany's government welcomed Wednesday the bail- out package offered by London to eight of Britain's largest banks and building societies, saying the package would stabilize the British banking system.

Joerg Asmussen, a state secretary at the Finance Ministry, told reporters in Berlin that Germany had been briefed in advance.

He said the bail-out, which London says involves a state injection of 50 billion pounds (87 billion dollars), was in harmony with principles agreed between European Union finance ministers.

Asmussen reiterated that Germany was not planning any new safety net for its own banking industry as a whole.

Berlin has blessed a huge public-private bail-out worth 50 billion euros (68 billion dollars) for a single German lender, Hypo Real Estate. (dpa)