Popular says may issue 3 bln eur govt-backed debt

MADRID, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Spain's third largest bank Popular (POP.MC) said on Tuesday it could supplement its fixed income issues programme with up to 3 billion euros ($4.47 billion) of government-backed debt.

Last year, the Spanish government backed debt worth about 90 billion euros issued by Spanish credit institutions to offset a liquidity crunch caused by the paralysis of interbank lending markets.

For 2009, the government has set aside a maximum of 64 billion euros.

(Reporting by Carlos Ruano; Writing by Judy MacInnes; editing by John Stonestreet)