TIMELINE: Global financial turmoil

(Reuters) - The past two weeks have seen unprecedented global market turmoil. Europe's biggest bank rescue of the financial crisis to date took shape on Monday ahead of a U.S. lawmaker vote on a $700 billion toxic debt fund.

Here is a day by day chronology of events:

SUNDAY SEPT 14

- Investment bank Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy protection, rival Merrill Lynch agrees to be taken over by Bank of America.

- The U.S. Federal Reserve says for the first time it will accept stocks in exchange for cash loans and 10 of the world's top banks agreed to establish a $70 billion emergency fund, with any one of them able to tap up to a third of that.

MONDAY SEPT 15

- Insurer American International Group Inc (AIG), says it is struggling for survival after losing some 92 percent of its value this year.

TUESDAY SEPT 16

- The U.S. Federal Reserve Board says the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will lend up to $85 billion to AIG, in a plan aimed at saving the company from a "disorderly failure" that could damage the global economy.

-- The Federal Reserve says under the two-year facility, the U.S. government will receive a 79.9 percent equity interest in the insurer and has the right to veto payment of dividends to common preferred shareholders.

WEDNESDAY SEPT 17

- British bank Lloyds TSB agrees to buy rival HBOS Plc, scooping up Britain's biggest home loan lender in an all-share deal which values HBOS at over 12 billion pounds ($22.3 billion).

THURSDAY SEPT 18

- The Fed expands its currency swap lines to $247 billion, increasing the line with the ECB to $110 billion and the line with the SNB to $27 billion, while opening new swap facilities with the Bank of Japan of $60 billion, the Bank of England of $40 billion, and the Bank of Canada of $10 billion.

-- The Lloyds TSB deal for HBOS Plc is officially announced as the UK government eases competition rules.

-- The UK Financial Services Authority imposes a temporary ban on short-selling financial stocks.