The German government on Monday assembled a rescue package worth as much as 500 billion euros ($671 billion) to shore up the country's financial system — part of a coordinated European bailout effort.

Finance Ministry spokesman Torsten Albig put the total figure at 500 billion euros ($671 billion). The ministry said the package foresees up to 400 billion euros ($536.7 billion) in guarantees for banks, plus up to 100 billion euros ($134.2 billion) to recapitalize banks and back up the guarantees.

The money will go into a newly created "financial market stabilization fund." The Finance Ministry said banks will be able to draw on that until the end of 2009.

The aim is "to create a viable instrument that will overcome the current liquidity shortages in a timely fashion and strengthen the stability of the German financial market," a ministry statement said. It pledged that the new fund would make "unbureaucratic and flexible" help available.

The ministry said that help would be available to German financial institutions as well as German units of foreign banks.

"The precondition is that they be solvent companies," it said. However, "in exceptional cases, needy companies that are relevant to the (financial) system also can be bolstered by the fund ... if this is linked with a clear prospect of restructuring."

Germany's two houses of parliament are to take up the package by the end of the week.