The head of the U.S. central bank says the government does not plan "anything like" a nationalization of banks.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made the comments in a congressional hearing Wednesday.
Officials have been playing down the possibility of a government take-over of troubled banks, which would keep the bank from collapsing. But investors fear it might also wipe out the value of their stock in the bank.
Worries about bank nationalization drove down the value of financial company stocks earlier this week.
Bernanke's remarks Wednesday were more specific than earlier reassurances.
He continued to draw a distinction between nationalization and a government minority interest with strict oversight and supervision, and said such a partnership would probably be temporary.
Bolstering troubled banks was part of the overall effort to keep economic problems from getting even worse. Bernanke said coordinated action by several nations last year helped avert a "global financial meltdown."
Some information for this report was provided by AP, Bloomberg and Reuters.
