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Big banks push $100bn plan to avert crunch

Fund seeks to prevent mortgage-debt selloff; advice from Treasury

(The Wall Street Journal) -- In a far-reaching response to the global credit crisis, Citigroup and other big banks are discussing a plan to pool together and financially back as much as $100bn in shaky mortgage securities and other investments.

The banks met three weeks ago in Washington at the Treasury Department, which convened the talks and is playing a central advisory role, people familiar with the situation said. The meeting was hosted by Treasury's undersecretary for domestic finance, Robert Steel, a former Goldman Sachs official and the top domestic finance adviser to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The Federal Reserve has been kept informed but has left the active role to the Treasury.

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