HRE close to bankruptcy: German government intends to gain full control over the lender

What would a Monday be without new reports of banks in trouble... At the weekend property lender Hypo Real Erstate, HRE, reported a loss of 5.5 billion euros for 2008. In other words, it's close to bankruptcy. The German state reacted speedily, buying 8.7 percent of its shares for 60 million euros. But that's not the end of the story.