INSTANT VIEW: Citigroup gets $306 billion rescue from government

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The U.S. government agreed to a $306 billion rescue plan for Citigroup Inc, under which it will shoulder some losses from toxic debt in the latest attempt to bolster a financial services industry in turmoil.

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KEY POINTS:

- Treasury says it and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will provide protection against losses in a pool of about $306-billion worth of loans and securities on Citigroup's balance sheet.

- Treasury to invest $20 bln in Citigroup exchange for preferred stocks

- Treasury says Federal Reserve ready to backstop any additional risk in asset pool through an offer of a non-recourse loan.

COMMENTS:

WINSTON HERRERA, CREDIT ANALYST WITH BNP PARIBAS, HONG KONG:

"It will definitely be positive for sentiment in terms of credit and other asset classes. A lot of the credit indices are going to tighten, especially when Europe opens.

"This rally started last Friday, we still see a few days for this to go on given the announcements at APEC on economic stimulus. Governments are raising the ante and next month the Fed is expected to cut rates. We will probably see a week of tightening. It's not going to be a one day rally.

RORY ROBERTSON, INTEREST RATE STRATEGIST, MACQUARIE IN SYDNEY:

"The move will help the markets not implode today. It's another one of a series of moves where the U.S. government and the Fed do whatever they can from preventing the financial system to fall over.

"It's all good stuff but the fact that the Fed has to bail out one of the biggest banks in the world is not exactly a vote of confidence. It's another example of institutions getting caught with too many bad loans in their books."

ATSI SHETH, ECONOMIST, RELIANCE CAPITAL, MUMBAI:

"Citigroup is globally a very important financial institution. Anything that keeps sentiment from falling off the cliff on that particular institution should be interpreted as marginally good news. But it is still too early to tell how things will actually shape up."

DARIUSZ KOWALCZYK, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, CFC SEYMOUR, HONG KONG: