Czech c.banker not worried by market slump -paper

...from the subprime U.S. mortgage sector, central bank Vice-Governor Ludek Niedermayer said.

He told the daily Hospodarske Noviny on Friday the Czech Republic's economic fundamentals were sound and financing of mortgages is different than in the United States, as banks had relatively well diversified investments and were well equipped with capital.

"We have, with the exception of public budgets, very good (economic) figures, so from this point of view it is not necessary to have any big worries," he said.

He said Czech banks were holding mortgages rather than securitising them, as lenders in the United States do.

"What happened in America could not happen here," he said, adding that banks were also less aggressive than lenders in the United States in providing loans.

The Czech equity market slumped amid the global turmoil this week but the low-yielding crown currency jumped as investors unwounded carry trades financed by the Czech unit.

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]