Wednesday, 08 Oct 2008 10:39
Bank bailout
Bank bailout
Wednesday, 08, Oct 2008 12:00
Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling have announced a plan for a UK bank bailout.
The government will pump £50 billion into the system, to banks which choose to accept the offer, with the taxpayer then becoming a major shareholder.
There will also be guarantees for inter-bank loans up to £250 billion.
The announcement comes after several days of alarm over what some observers described as government dithering.
But Mr Brown and Mr Darling stressed they needed the time to fully develop a sensible response to the current crisis.