BERLIN/MUNICH, Germany, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Credit provision
in Germany has returned to pre-crisis levels as banks channel
funds into the domestic market while steering well clear of
risky assets, the head of the Ifo economic research institute
said on Wednesday.

“Concerning credit, I think we are back,” Ifo President
Hans-Werner Sinn said in an interview with Reuters Insider
television. “The interest rates which banks now charge
homeowners in Germany are the lowest in history.”

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Germany is set to
renew consolidation efforts to merge its troubled public-sector
landesbanks at a high-profile meeting in Berlin on Tuesday.

The wholesale lenders account for nearly a fifth of banking
market share in Europe’s largest economy yet are seen as the
weak link in the sector. Several were hammered in the financial
crisis and required billions of euros of state aid in bailouts.

FRANKFURT/BERLIN, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Germany will intensify
efforts to consolidate its troubled landesbanks at a meeting in
Berlin on Tuesday, aiming for a major overhaul of the banking
sector in Europe’s largest economy. [ID:nLDE68Q187]

Following are some questions and answers on landesbank
consolidation:

WHAT ROLE DO THE LANDESBANKS PLAY IN THE ECONOMY?

Germany’s eight landesbanks traditionally provide wholesale
services to their local public savings banks. But they have also
used their access to cheap government money to expand into
investment banking, in competition with players like Deutsche
Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

By Sarah Marsh

BERLIN (Reuters Life!) – Peter Lindbergh is one of the world’s best known fashion photographers yet glamour and fashion are secondary to people and places in the largest exhibition of his work, now open in Berlin.

Lindbergh helped forge the supermodel phenomenon in the 1980s with photos of models such as Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell but says he did not set out to be a fashion photographer.

BERLIN, Aug 22 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel
on Sunday stood by her plan to levy a tax on nuclear power
providers, pitting her coalition against industry in a turbulent
return to government business after the summer lull.

The nuclear tax is one of a number of contentious issues
facing Merkel, who has failed to capitalise on the strong
recovery in Europe’s largest economy to drum up support for her
reforms, including budget cuts and an overhaul of the military.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Regional German governments and politicians from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition parties are joining protests against planned austerity measures, media reported on Saturday.

A day after German industry launched a concerted attack on Merkel over her proposal for a tax on nuclear power providers, Der Spiegel said that regional governments were planning a joint protest against cuts in funding for urban development.

By Sarah Marsh

BERLIN (Reuters Life!) – Got 48 hours to spare in Berlin? The city which proudly bares the scars of the turbulent 20th century history it overcame to become a political and creative powerhouse, bang in the center of Europe, has a lot to offer.

Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors get the most out of a visit to the German capital, this year celebrating 20 years since reunification:

By Sarah Marsh

BABELSBERG, Germany (Reuters Life!) – Berlin’s film business is booming, with low production costs, generous subsidies and cultural cachet attracting some of the world’s top filmmakers scouring for funds in the wake of the crisis.

Internationally acclaimed directors from Quentin Tarantino to Roman Polanski are flocking to film in the German capital, churning out hits like “Inglourious Basterds” and “The Ghost Writer,” while home-grown talent such as Til Schweiger and Roland Emmerich have returned from Hollywood to join the party.

By Sarah Marsh

BERLIN (Reuters Life!) – Txus Parras, who has been squatting in the Tacheles building in downtown Berlin since the wall fell two decades ago, says he won’t leave it without putting up a fight.

Tacheles is one of many forums for alternative culture in the German capital facing eviction from quirky historical properties which property developers want to transform into luxury flats, hotels and boutiques.