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Empresas y finanzas

Bush sees rescue plan impact taking time


    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday, trying to reassure nervous Americans that the economy will ultimately recover from the worst crisis in decades, said that it will take time for the financial rescue plan to have its full impact.

    "The actions will take more time to have their full impact," Bush said at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "It took a while for the credit system to freeze up, it's going to take a while for the credit system to thaw."

    He has been waging a campaign to reassure Americans and Wall Street that the $700 billion (404 billion pound) bailout package was the antidote to the financial crisis, which began with the collapse in the U.S. housing market and led to frozen credit markets.

    "Our nation is dealing with a serious financial crisis," Bush said. "In the long run the American people can have confidence that this economy will recover."

    U.S. markets have swung dramatically this week as economic data has shown a slowing U.S. economy. New housing starts in September fell 6.3 percent, their lowest level since January 1991, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.

    Bush insisted that equity stakes the U.S. government was taking in financial institutions, up to $250 billion worth, would be temporary and that it did not amount to nationalizing the banks.

    "This program is designed with strong protections to ensure that government's involvement in individual banks is limited in size, limited in scope and limited in duration," Bush said. "The government intervention is not a government takeover."

    He also said the U.S. Treasury Department would go ahead with buying illiquid assets that have saddled the balance sheets of lenders. Initially the government had planned that as the first step but then switched to direct capital injections.

    "These are decisive measures aimed at the heart of our financial challenges," Bush said.

    He also praised steps taken by European allies. He said they were similarly bold and had the full support of the United States. Europe has also been pushing for a summit later this year to address broader reforms to the financial system.

    "As we work to resolve the current crisis, we must also work to ensure that this situation never happens again," Bush said. "Above all, this requires updating the way we regulate America's financial system."

    Bush will sit down on Saturday at the U.S. Camp David presidential retreat with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to discuss the financial crisis.

    (Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky and Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)