Sheila Bair, chairman of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., explains that the FDIC will temporarily guarantee new senior unsecured debt and fully protect non-interest-bearing deposits at banks in a bid to restore confidence in the financial system. (Jay Mallin/Bloomberg News /Landov)
The Treasury targeted nine banks for the first $250 billion, which included the country's four largest: Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo.
Also included in the plan are the two remaining independent investment banks, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Merrill Lynch was also slated to receive some of the cash.
Bank stocks rallied on the news, and the Dow jumped more than 400 points before closing flat as investors considered the impact of the plan and digested the previous day's record climb.
The President also announced the government will insure all non-interest bearing bank accounts to ease worries about payroll and checking accounts that exceed the FDIC's insurance limits.
Credit markets in the United States, open after the Columbus Day holiday on Monday, responded positively to international and domestic efforts to boost bank confidence.
The London interbank overnight rate, or "Libor," which monitors the amount banks charge each other for loans, fell to 2.18% from 2.47% last Friday. Meanwhile the broader 3-month Libor rate fell to 4.64% from 4.75% on Monday, indicating that loans were becoming slightly cheaper.
U.S. Treasury bonds, usually used as a safe haven in times of economic strife, also fell in value.
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