Barroso to announce bank plan

Barroso to announce bank plan European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso will announce his plan to recapitalize Europe's banks on Wednesday afternoon, his office told CNN.

The details will come in a speech to the European Parliament, his office said, declining to say what the plan would include.

The announcement comes as the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Commission hinted that Greece would get a much-needed infusion of cash as it struggles to stave off default.

The tranche of 8 billion euros (about $10.8 billion) is likely to be released to Greece in early November if the Eurogroup and IMF executive board approve it, the ECB said Tuesday.

Stock markets around the world have eagerly anticipated a recapitalization or bail-out plan for the European banks for weeks. Traders, who have kept stock prices volatile, have feared that Greece would default on its debts and that the large European banks would be pushed into default because they hold billions of euros in Greek government bonds.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged Sunday to pursue recapitalizaton of Europe's banks, an announcement that sent world markets soaring.

The French and German leaders did not go into detail about their plan, but Sarkozy said they would "respond before the end of this month."

It is not clear what relationship, if any, there is between the French-German plan and Barroso's.

CNN