So far, the governments of Germany, France, Britain, Spain, Austria and Portugal have announced financial rescue packages worth a total of $1.96 trillion.

* Britain was the first country to announce its rescue plan, which involves €150 billion to help recapitalize banks.

* Germany revealed details of its €500 billion rescue package on Monday, which includes up to €400 billion worth of guarantees for banks, another €80 billion allowing the state to take stakes in the banks, and €20 billion to back up the guarantees. The country's finance ministry said banks will be able to draw upon a "Financial Market Stabilization Fund" up until the end of 2009.

* France will guarantee interbank loans up to €320 billion in funding, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced, adding another €40 billion will be set aside to recapitalize national banks.

* Italy approved a decree that guarantees the country's banking system, though Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti said the cost of the plan could not be quantified at this stage. The plan will guarantee for up to five years any debt incurred by Italian banks up until Dec. 31, 2009.

* Spain will guarantee up to €100 billion in bank bond issuance this year, according to Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The measures were agreed to by the Spanish government on Monday, and will cover credit operations by Spanish banks, as well as foreign banks with "significant operations" in Spain, until the end of the year. A decision for 2009 has not yet been made, the prime minister said.

* Austria will guarantee up to €114 billion to prop up its troubled banks. Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer said on Monday his government will also provide an additional €15 billion in capital.

The flurry of announcements come just one day after the leaders of 15 EU countries met in France, where they agreed to a set of guidelines that will govern the individual rescue packages. The rest of the 27-member European Union will have the opportunity to adopt the measures at a Wednesday meeting.

French President Sarkozy on Sunday said the actions are "not a gift to banks," but an interim measure needed to restore confidence in the markets.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who along with Sarkozy called for co-ordinated action by the EU prior to the Paris meeting, said the agreement will make the current crisis "more manageable." "It will allow markets to start functioning again, that was our aim," she said, adding the agreement sends "a strong message to the markets."

The unified European response to the credit turmoil now dwarf's the U.S. government's $700 billion rescue program. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is expected to meet Monday with Federal Reserve representatives and release further details about the U.S. rescue package, possibly as early as Tuesday.

European and Asian stocks surged on Tuesday following the weekend developments, with the UK FTSE 100 closing up 324 points, or 8.26%, the Eurostoxx up 225 points, or 10.76, and the German Dax closing up 518 points, or 11.40%. For both the Eurostoxx and Dax, the gains were the largest on record.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 500 points, or 6%.

By Stephen Huebl, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , edited by Sarah Sussman, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

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