Big Banks Circle Wagons, Plan Loan Pool

A group of 10 large financial companies are planning to take part in a $70 billion loan program that's meant to help the sector survive the credit crisis that continues to spread around the globe and claim one storied firm after another.

Each of the banks will place $7 billion in the pool. The members are: JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote), Goldman Sachs (GS Quote) Bank of America (BAC Quote), Barclays (BCS Quote), Citigroup (C Quote), Credit Suisse (CS Quote), Deutsche Bank (DB Quote) Merrill Lynch (MER Quote), Morgan Stanley (MS Quote) and UBS (UBS Quote).

The idea behind the fund is to give financial-services companies in need of capital a place where they can go to borrow. Banks will be able to get loans totaling up to one-third the amount of the overall pool.

The plan though doesn't appear to have come in time to save Lehman Brothers (LEH Quote), as the New York investment bank said Monday that it plans to file for bankruptcy after failing to find a buyer.