TOPWRAP 10-U.S. bailout vote nears, Europe feels banking chill

* House to vote on bailout Monday, Senate by Wednesday

* Bill disburses $700 bln in stages, no golden parachutes

* Benelux governments rescue Dutch-Belgian group Fortis

* Britain set to nationalize Bradford and Bingley

* Citigroup, Wells Fargo said to bid for Wachovia

By Richard Cowan and Patrick Rucker

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers geared up to vote on Monday on creating a $700 billion government fund to buy bad debt and alleviate the financial crisis while European authorities raced to the rescue of three troubled banks.

With global markets hanging on every twist and turn in Washington, the European banking sector felt the fallout as Belgian-Dutch group Fortis (FOR.BR) and British mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley BB.L faced nationalization.

The rescues came after a weekend of high drama in the first major bank crisis to hit the euro zone in 13 months of global financial turmoil that began in the United States.

U.S. House Republicans, balking at such a vast outlay of public money and facing re-election in November, are seen as the main sticking point to passage of the bailout bill.

But senior Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire threw his weight behind the deal, saying he expected the House to vote on the bill on Monday.

U.S. President George W. Bush said in a statement the plan being finalized by Congress provides the tools and funding to protect the U.S. economy from a "system-wide breakdown," and expressed confidence it would be passed quickly.

The dollar edged up against the euro and yen on Sunday while U.S. stock futures held steady. Analysts predicted a Monday relief rally, but warned it might not last.

"The bailout is just a band-aid over a very large problem," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT Forex in New York. "It will help Wall Street in the very short term, but it won't help Main Street -- the U.S. economy will remain challenged in many fronts."

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said the plan was not a "bailout of Wall Street," but a way to protect taxpayers and turn around the economy. She stressed it now needed bipartisan support. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate could take up the bill by Wednesday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he was confident the program will be enough to free up jammed financial markets and keep credit flowing.