People close to the situation said no agreement had yet been reached and the government had yet to give its approval to the plan proposed by Citi, which stops short of outright nationalisation. But they added that negotiations between Citi's executives and Treasury officials had made progress since the weekend and an announcement could come as early as today or tomorrow.

Insiders say the deal, revealed by the Financial Times, centres on the conversion of part of the government's $45bn (€35bn) of preferred shares into Citi's common stock – up to a stake of about 40 per cent. Other shareholders, which include sovereign wealth funds and pension funds, would also convert some of their $30bn-plus of preferred stock into shares. Citi, which is headed by Vikram Pandit, might add more capital through an equity offering. The moves would boost Citi's capital base by adding more common stock without forcing the government and other investors to spend more money. But it would severely dilute the holdings of other shareholders.