Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Germany won't join the U.S. bank- rescue program, Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said, after Chancellor Angela Merkel noted that German proposals to bolster market transparency might have mitigated the need for such measures.

The U.S. program is ``very important to regain the stability and above all trust in financial markets,'' Steinbrueck told reporters in Berlin today. ``Yet the U.S. situation is not comparable to Germany's. Germany won't adopt a comparable program. Germany's banking system, based on the three-pillar model, is stable. None of the other six G-7 members will adopt a similar program to the U.S.''

Steinbrueck's comments came as government ministers from all three coalition parties stressed the differences between Germany and the U.S. in the wake of market turmoil that prompted Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion rescue package.

Economy Minister Michael Glos, a member of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party to Merkel's Christian Democrats, told reporters that the rout's causes were ``specifically an American problem.'' He added that ``everyone should keep his own house in order.''

Merkel, in a speech to employers in Berlin, repeated calls for an international framework of financial-market regulation to promote greater transparency, and bemoaned the U.S. and U.K. for not listening to her sooner.

The economic players ``must accept'' rules on strengthening the independence of ratings companies, greater transparency in financial markets and accepting that high-risk products entail big risks, Merkel said, adding that such steps don't necessarily require new laws.

German G-7 Meeting

``These measures aren't new; they were spelled out at the G-7 meeting in Heiligendamm'' during Germany's presidency last year of the Group of Eight leading nations, Merkel said. ``We must adopt them. Germany has always pointed out how necessary they are.''

Merkel made it clear that she blames the U.S. and U.K. for leading opposition to implementing the measures.

``That was regrettable, but has changed in the meantime,'' Merkel said in an interview yesterday with the Muenchner Merkur newspaper. ``I criticize the markets' assumption that they're in the right. Sadly -- backed by the governments in Great Britain and the U.S. -- they've resisted voluntary regulation. I strongly advocate that we use the latest crisis to draw the necessary conclusions.''

Finance Ministry spokesman Torsten Albig, speaking to reporters in Berlin, said Germany will continue to promote greater transparency with the U.S. and U.K., whose economies are sometimes referred to in Germany as following the ``Anglo- Saxon'' model.

`The Anglo-Saxons are moving massively in our direction,'' Albig said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Parkin in Berlin at bparkin@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 22, 2008 09:38 EDT