British major banks have told the Government they support its plan to take substantial shareholdings in return for an injection of billions of pounds.

The chief executives of Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds TSB and HBOS last night met the chancellor, Alistair Darling, and other senior members of the Tripartite Authorities.

The banks are understood to have told Mr Darling that they broadly back a plan for the Government to take equity stakes in return for capital injections. Analysts yesterday predicted the Government might need to pump between £30bn and £50bn into the banks.

Financial Times, The Times