FACTBOX: McCain, Obama on bank bailout plan

(Reuters) - The United States ushered in a new era in banking on Tuesday with plans to take equity stakes worth up to $250 billion in financial institutions, an incursion into the private sector that U.S. officials called a regrettable last resort.

Following are comments by the two major candidates for the November 4 presidential election:

REPUBLICAN JOHN MCCAIN

"I think it's pretty clear that we had to take that action. But I want us out of the banking business as soon as possible. It's not the government's business."

"All of these steps are unprecedented but a lot of it has to do with the unprecedented crisis we're in."

DEMOCRAT BARACK OBAMA

"Injecting capital into our financial institutions is essential to stabilizing our economy, but we must make sure we are not giving sweetheart, insider deals that shift the risk to taxpayers without giving them sufficient upside."

"And we must make sure that these institutions are helping homeowners stay in their homes, which includes abiding by a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures for families who are making a good faith effort to pay their mortgages."

"Finally, the plan appears to extend a broader set of guarantees to banks without requiring any additional regulation, which represents more of the same failed philosophy that got us into this mess."

"I will be studying the details of this deal to make sure we can advance the core concept while still protecting taxpayers and ensuring that CEOs are not being enriched on our dime."

(Compiled by Andy Sullivan and Matt Spetalnick)