The US government unveiled a bold plan to rescue troubled Citigroup, including taking a $20bn (€15.7bn) stake in the firm as well as guaranteeing hundreds of billions of dollars in risky assets.

The US government plans to expand protections greatly for the US banking system out of deep concern for the economy, an industry official said after banking executives and top federal officials met to revamp the largest bail-out plan in the nation’s history. President George is to announce the expansion later today.