The UK government has announced details of a rescue package for the banking system worth up to £50bn ($88bn).

It will initially make the extra capital available to eight of the UK’s largest banks and building societies in return for preference shares in them.

It is “designed to put the British banking system on a sounder footing”, said Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

But the FTSE 100 in London fell 4%. HBOS shares rose 52% but Barclays fell 8% and Standard Chartered dropped 13%.

Read more