Leaders of all 27 European Union governments rushed to reassure plunging markets yesterday they would each help prop up the financial system as more countries raced to follow Germany’s unilateral move to offer blanket protection for savers.

In a sign of heightened concern over panic spreading to Europe over the financial crisis, the bloc issued an unscheduled statement saying each of its members would take “whatever measures necessary” to preserve financial stability – in effect promising that those countries that did not raise deposit guarantees for savers would seek to support individual banks.

Financial Times