(fixes spelling in headline, banks sted bank)
BERLIN, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The German government plans a 500,000 euros cap on the income of employees at banks that have received state support, sources said on Monday.
Banks in which the state owns 75 percent or more, such as Hypo Real Estate (HRE), should be allowed to pay salaries no higher than 500,000 euros to employees and board members with no additional bonus, the sources said.
For banks in which the state has a lower stake, such as in Commerzbank, the limit would also be 500,000 euros, but the pay could be made up of fixed and variable parts, with the latter not to be paid in case of insolvency proceedings.
The new rules on capping bonuses would not be valid for claims that originated before the start of 2011.
Commerzbank's ability to pay eye-popping bonuses was capped in 2008 and 2009 at the request of the German government, which took a stake in the bank after providing an 18 billion euro bailout following the collapse of investment bank Lehman Bros.
Commerzbank has since appealed to shareholders and the government to revise the compensation structure as a way to remain competitive as rival firms continue to pay higher salaries to top bankers. The bank declined comment on Monday.
Exceptions were possible if the banks paid full interest on the state rescue or had paid back half of the money to the federal government, the sources also said.
The new rules were set to become part of a restructuring law for banks and will have to be agreed by the ruling coalition of Christian Democrats and Free Democrats on Tuesday, with a parliamentary decision due on Thursday. (Reporting by Klaus-Peter Senger, Matthias Sobolewski and Andreas Rinke, writing by Annika Breidthardt; Editing by David Cowell)