Blue-chip names such as Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer Inc. and Peugeot are among the firms bailing out Europe’s ailing banks in a reversal of the established roles of clients and lenders, Reuters reported.

One source with knowledge of the so-called repo deals, or short-term secured lending, said the two U.S. pharmaceutical groups and French carmaker were the latest to sign up for them.

Europe’s banks are struggling to secure the cash to fund their day-to-day business and have largely stopped lending to one another for fear that Europe’s sovereign debt crisis could land any of their peers in trouble, Reuters said.

As a result a group of well-known, cash-rich companies with solid cash flows has stepped into the repo market, which provides a form of lending so far almost exclusively in use between banks, and between banks and central banks.

One market participant said that in one key area of lending, companies now account for 25 percent of these deals.

Repos provide the new financiers with the strict guarantees they need before parting with their cash, answering worries that the crisis has weakened Europe’s banks to the extent that they might not be able to pay the money back.