Washington/Brussels  - Governments around the world have committed at least 4 trillion dollars in the scramble to save banks and other pillars of the world finance industry and free up credit, in the hope of easing a looming global slowdown.

The financial sector has already written down more than 500 billion dollars since late 2006, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected total losses of 1.4 trillion dollars by the time the crisis ends.

Overview of rescue moves by major governments:

UNITED STATES: Washington has committed more than 1 trillion dollars in 2008. Congress passed a 700-billion-dollar financial rescue plan in the largest government intervention in capital markets in US history. Up to 200 billion dollars was pledged to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - the giant, government-sponsored mortgage lenders - and 150 billion dollars for insurance giant American International Group (AIG). Congress passed a 170-billion-dollar fiscal stimulus package in March, and another
30 billion dollars was provided by the Federal Reserve in the purchase of Bear Stearns investment bank by JP Morgan Chase.

EUROPEAN UNION: the overall bill for various national schemes within the eurozone will top 1 trillion euros (1.27 trillion dollars). Germany pledged 470 billion euros, France 265 billion euros, the Netherlands 200 billion euros, Austria and Spain 100 billion euros each. With the addition of Britain to the tune of 500 billion euros and plans outside the eurozone in Scandinavia and central European countries, the total cost could reach more than 2 trillion euros for the EU's 27 states.

ASIA: China pledged to spend 588 billion dollars to stimulate domestic demand, and South Korea plans a 130-billion-dollar rescue package. Japan announced a stimulus package in August and October totaling some 38.6 trillion yen (390 billion dollars) to boost the domestic economy and household spending.

EMERGING AND DEVELOPING ECONOMIES: As the crisis spread from wealthy to poor nations, the IMF and World Bank have provided emergency loans to help bridge the financing gap. The IMF has created a 100-billion-dollar lending programme for countries facing balance- of-payment problems. (dpa)