Banking shares have fallen in London following news that the bosses of big banks had met Chancellor Alistair Darling to discuss fundraising.
The falls were led by Royal Bank of Scotland, which fell 38%, followed by Lloyds TSB, which declined 20%, and HBOS, which lost 18%.
The banks called on Mr Darling to come up with rescue plan proposals, BBC business editor Robert Peston said.
Barclays has denied it has requested any capital from the government.
Banking sources have said there will be another meeting later on Tuesday.
The Treasury said it did not comment on whether or not meetings were taking place.
Monday's meeting was attended by Mr Darling together with Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, and Adair Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority.
Representing banks were the chief executives of RBS, Barclays and Lloyds TSB.
The Treasury is understood to have been formulating a plan that would allow the government to provide extra funding to the banks in exchange for stakes in them.
(BBC)
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