(HELSINKI) - Finland's government said Monday it would soon introduce new legislation for the financial sector in line with a joint agreement by eurozone leaders at the weekend.

The Nordic country gave no estimation of how far it would be willing to go to help its banks, but reiterated that none of the banks had yet indicated a need for state capital.

"We cannot estimate the amount yet, because we don't know if anybody is going to need it," Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen told reporters.

Finland is preparing to grant guarantees for banks' debt instruments and to invest state capital in banks, but banks would have to pay for these, the government said in a statement.

If a bank was in serious trouble, the state could invest in it and become an owner.

"These measures are going to be introduced just in case. If the banking sector were to face problems, we would have instruments to handle it," Katainen said, adding that Finnish banks were financially sound.

"But there is a need to improve the confidence in banks in Finland as well."

The measures would remain in place until the end of 2009.

The banking crisis that started in the United States has not yet impacted Finnish banks, although shares on the Helsinki stock exchange have plunged in recent weeks.

Finland went through a serious banking crisis in the early 1990s. Its economy was then also hit hard by the collapse of its important business partner the Soviet Union.

"We learned from the previous crisis that additional capital resources for banks is the most important thing," Katainen noted.

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