So does this mean the financial crisis is over?

Are the banks safe?

A lot safer than they were. The state owns Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock, partially owns the Royal Bank of Scotland and the soon-to-be-merged Lloyds TSB/HBOS group. They should be more confident about lending to each other.

Will it be easier to get a mortgage now?

it ought to be. The part-nationalised banks are committed to returning to 2007 levels of lending. New mortgages are at only 30 per cent of last year's levels, so something had to be done. We'll see big cuts in interest rates too.

What will it mean for staff?

It is hard to see the Government pushing for redundancies to cut costs. Some jobs may be lost anyway but in a slow, orderly fashion.

What about the fat cats?

No bonuses this year and future bonuses will be paid in shares. Packages for traders and top execs should be restructured to align them with the consequences of their actions.

What does it mean for shareholders?

Most of us have some shares in these large banks, because most pension funds have had money tied up in them, and there are small shareholders from the demutualisation of the Halifax andfrom the privatisation of TSB. For the banks that have been part-nationalised, it means a substantial dilution of shareholders' interest. Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock shareholders will be lucky to see anything from their stakes.

What's these banks' futures?

in the medium term, the shares the Government owns will probably be sold back to the private sector. in the long term we may see the emergence of "utility banks" that concentrate on taking deposits, current accounts and savings and making simple loans.

Did the taxpayer have a choice?

Not really. Yesterday's move was the only response the Government had left, short of complete nationalisation. The banks' balance sheets were so weak that the only way to prevent a "systemic" collapse was for the Government to step in. Lending the money was a sticking plaster on a much bigger wound, and there was only one way to treat it; a huge injection of capital from the only people able to do so, the taxpayers.

What will this cost us?

This is a huge subsidy from the taxpayer to the banks. it will have to be paid for. if the banks make operating losses those will have to be funded. The ultimate danger is that the system stays under pressure and the Government has to nationalise it all, so shares bought for £37bn become worthless.

Could the taxpayer make a profit on the deal?

it's conceivable. it depends how rapidly the financial system settles, how bad the recession is, and the rest of the world getting its financial system in order.

How long will this go on for?

Optimistically two years, with the Government then selling the shares.

Why didn't the Government do this sooner?

The scale of the weakness in the banks' balance sheets has only recently become apparent and the crisis in the credit markets was not going away, despite cuts in interest rates and huge loans from central banks. This would have been outlandish a few months ago but an unprecedentedcrisis prompted a reciprocal action.

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