Bundesbank president Mr Ernst Welteke said today he would cover part of the cost of an expensive hotel stay paid by a commercial bank as pressure mounted on him to resign for accepting the perk.
Mr Welteke, a member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council, confirmed that Dresdner Bank had paid for a four-night stay at the Adlon Hotel, one of Berlin's most luxurious hotels, but added that he spent two of those days on official business.
"The Bundesbank will pay the business part of the event, which was two days. The remaining two nights will be taken on by me personally," the German central bank chief said in a statement issued by the Bundesbank. "The transfers to Dresdner Bank were made today," he added.
Mr Welteke had said on Saturday he saw nothing wrong with others paying his costs to attend their events.
There was no immediate response from the German government.
But earlier it distanced itself from Mr Welteke by demanding an explanation and saying such behaviour would be intolerable for a government minister.
The news that Welteke accepted a perk from a commercial bank makes him vulnerable to criticism partly because the Bundesbank shares responsibility for supervising the financial sector.