The U.S. federal government may have reached an internal economic consensus on taking one-third ownership stakes in Citigroup, in a plan which may reassure worried investors that Citigroup will be given access to the resources needed to survive the financial crisis which has left the company with low reserves, and a long string of poor credentials.

Insider sources familiar with economic consultation and planning within the Obama administration told the press Thursday that agreements may not be reached until next week, but the move will mark only the beginning of the Obama administration’s “bank protection plan,” a move which should protect the financial industry from any further serious failures.

The deal, which presents itself as a public-private partnership, will allegedly involve having the company actively search for private investors to purchase common shares, while the government matches the private industry’s pricing and quantities one-to-one up to $25 billion U.S. in exchange for new shares of the company’s stock - common stock, but common stock that does not pay the near five per cent dividend Citigroup’s private stock is currently paying.

The government already has $45 billion of liability garnered through the extension of two previous financial lifelines to the company. Additionally, the company is relying on government insurance on billions of dollars worth of its assets to stay afloat. This third cycle of Citigroup rescue plans will be marked with changes to the requirements issued to the company - bonuses, perks, dividends and it’s current board will all be addressed and managed by some, currently unclear, level of government intervention.

This move follows former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan’s report that he believed nationalization of financial markets, at least in the short term, seemed both inevitable and the best solution to a widescale financial crisis.

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