Bank of England unveils credit crunch package

The Bank of England unveiled a 100-billion-dollar plan Monday to get Britain's home loan market moving again in the latest attempt to combat the global credit crunch.
The BoE said it would allow high street banks to swap mortgage-backed securities for government bonds in a bid to boost their liquidity at a time when banks are reluctant to lend to each other.
Britain's main home loan providers are rapidly tightening their lending criteria as fears persist over the sector's exposure to the collapsed subprime or high-risk housing market in the United States.
"The Bank of England is today launching a scheme to allow banks to swap temporarily their high quality mortgage-backed and other securities for UK Treasury Bills," the central bank said in a statement.
BoE governor Mervyn King said the measures could eventually reach double the initial amount of 50 billion pounds (63 billion euros, 99 billion dollars), telling reporters the plan has "no arbitrary limit on it.”