President Bush's statement Saturday on the financial crisis, as released by the White House. He spoke in the Rose Garden after meeting with financial ministers from the G-7 nations:

Thank you all very much. Good morning. (Treasury) Secretary (Henry) Paulson, Secretary (of State Condoleezza) Rice and I just had a productive discussion with finance ministers of America's partners in the G7 _ Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan. I'm pleased to be with Prime Minister (Jean-Claude) Juncker of Luxembourg, who is the president of the Eurogroup of countries, Managing Director (Dominique) Strauss-Kahn of the International Monetary Fund, President (Robert) Zoellick of the World Bank, Chairman (Mario) Draghi of the Financial Stability Forum. Thank you all for coming.

I appreciate the spirit and common purpose that these leaders have brought to Washington. We recognize that the turmoil in the financial markets is affecting all our citizens. Citizens are rightly concerned about the crisis. And we understand that in dealing with the financial crisis, we're really helping people be able to have a better future themselves.

In my country, it is important for our citizens to have understood that which affects Wall Street affects Main Street as well. And all of us recognize that this is a serious global crisis and, therefore, requires a serious global response for the good of our people. We resolve to continue our strong efforts to return our economies to the path of stability and long-term growth.

The United States has a special role to play in leading the response to this crisis. That is why I convened this morning's meeting here at the White House, and that is why our government will continue using all the tools at our disposal to resolve this crisis. At our meeting, Secretary Paulson and I described the bold actions the United States has taken over the past few weeks.

To help thaw frozen markets, the Federal Reserve has taken unprecedented measures to boost liquidity. The Securities and Exchange Commission has cracked down on abusive practices in the markets. Federal agencies have significantly expanded the amount of money insured in bank and credit union accounts. My administration worked with the Congress to pass legislation authorizing the government to recapitalize banks by purchasing troubled assets or providing insurance or purchasing equity in financial institutions.

These extraordinary efforts are being implemented as quickly and as effectively as possible. The benefits will not be realized overnight. But as these actions take effect, they will help restore stability to our markets and confidence to our financial institutions.

I'm pleased that other G-7 countries are making strong _ are taking strong measures. Finance ministers and central bankers have acted to provide new liquidity to markets, strengthen financial institutions, protect citizens' savings, and ensure fairness and integrity in the financial markets. Continued...