The Bush administration announced more specific plans on its $700 billion bailout plan this morning, including investing $250 billion in banks in an effort to stabilize the nation’s financial system, The New York Times reported.

Speaking before markets opened this morning, President George W. Bush and the Treasury Department said the government would invest part of the bailout money in banks in return for an equity stake, a move similar to those announced by European governments yesterday.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. told nine of the nation’s leading bankers about the plan at a meeting Monday afternoon, and they agreed to participate for the good of the U.S. economy. Half of the $250 billion will go toward buying stock in nine big banks, including Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The other half will go toward smaller banks and thrifts.

The U.S. government also said this morning that it would guarantee new debt issued by banks for three years, a move designed to encourage banks to pick up lending again, and that the Federal Reserve would start a program to become a last-resort buyer of commercial paper, helping businesses get money they need for day-to-day operations.

In addition, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. increased its deposit insurance limit from the $250,000 announced earlier this month to an unlimited guarantee on accounts that don’t pay interest; several small-business customers, which often carry balances over the federal insurance limits, have been withdrawing their money from weaker banks and moving it to bigger, more stable ones.

In a speech at the Rose Garden this morning, President Bush called these moves “unprecedented and aggressive,” but also “limited and temporary.”