London - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday called a top-level meeting to discuss government proposals to stabilize the banking system after a dramatic slump in bank shares on the London stock market. The meeting came within hours of the return from the European Union's finance ministers meeting in Luxembourg of Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling.
Darling, Bank of England governor Mervyn King and Adair Turner, head of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), took part in the talks which were reported to be centering on extra funding for cash-starved banks.
The Luxembourg meeting agreed that EU states would prop up banks in an effort to enhance the "stability of our banking system and to protect the deposits of individual savers."
The British government is understood to be working on a plan to inject between 30 and 50 billion pounds (52 and 78 billion dollars) into banks which have suffered from frozen credit markets.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) and Lloyds were among leading banks suffering heavy share losses on the London Stock Exchange Tuesday.
