The White House moved Friday to calm fears that troubled US banks will be nationalised after the shares of financial institutions were hammered down sharply by the market. "This administration continues to strongly believe that a privately held banking system is the correct way to go," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.
He stressed that the banking system would be "regulated sufficiently by this government. "That's been our belief for quite some time. And we continue to have that," he said.