The UK government unveiled one of the broadest bailouts in the global financial crisis, potentially injecting tens of billions of pounds into some of the country's largest financial institutions, people familiar with the matter said.

As part of the plan, the British government will offer to buy stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Barclays PLC and soon-to-be-combined HBOS PLC and Lloyds TSB Group, and provide other assistance that could total as much as £50 billion ($87.9 billion).