Good number of banks want equity: Paulson

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson listens as FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair (not shown) speaks after Paulson announced the Treasury Department's plan to take equity stakes in potentially thousands of banks totaling about $250 billion at the Treasury Department Cash Room in Washington, October 14, 2008.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Thursday said that there were plenty of other banks interested in an equity injection under the government's $700 billion financial rescue plan.

"We got nine banks to sign up initially and we're going to be going out broadly. And you know, we have we have interest from a good number of other banks," he told Fox Business News in an interview.

Paulson on Tuesday persuaded the country's nine largest banks to accept a total tax-payer equity injection of $125 billion to recapitalize the banking system and confront a global credit crisis..

"We took unprecedented actions on a case by case basis...now we're going to the heart of the problem. We're taking a systemic approach. These are bold actions. I'm confident they're the right actions," he said.

(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)