The US government has decided to abandon plans to buy up the toxic mortgage assets at the heart of the global financial crisis.
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the €700bn Troubled Asset Relief Program would focus now on continued capital injections to struggling banks, but would also look at ways to help the 'nonbank' financial sector.
This could include rescue efforts for credit card and auto loan debt, which are often packaged into securities sold to investors.
Announcing the policy change which had been the centrepiece of a $700bn bailout plan, the US Treasury Secretary said the crisis had deepened since the controversial rescue plan was approved by the US Congress in early October.
