Roin Hood banker jailed

A German banker who stole money from rich clients to help poor ones has been sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison, a court says.

The 45-year-old, dubbed by German media as a modern day Robin Hood, diverted 2.1 million euros ($US2.79 million) to clients he felt were needy while holding a senior position at a savings bank in the southern region of Tauberfranken.

"The accused undertook these actions to grant liquidity to clients who, in his view, were short of money and who no longer got loans under the usual money market conditions," a statement issued by the court in the southern town of Mosbach said.

But the man soon lost track of the funds he had misappropriated, as well as where they had come from, it says.

A spokeswoman for the court says the man, a German of Yugoslavian origin, had not enriched himself during the scam.

His scheme was uncovered when he turned himself in to police in 2006, the spokeswoman says.

This was just when local media had begun to get wind of the story, she says.