The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the U.S. government has decided to buy stakes in nine of the nation’s largest banks.

The U.S. government is expected to take stakes in nine of the nation’s top financial institutions as part of a new plan to restore confidence to the battered U.S. banking system, a far-reaching effort that puts the government’s guarantee behind the basic plumbing of financial markets.

This move comes on the heels of the British government’s decision to buy stakes in their countries largest banks.