A bank rescue package totalling some £500 billion (approximately $850 billion) was announced by the British government on 8 October 2008, as a response to the global financial crisis. After two unsteady weeks at the end of September, the first week of October had seen major falls in the stock market and severe worries about the stability of British banks. The plan aimed to restore market confidence and help stabilise the British banking system, and provided for a range of what was claimed to be short-term "loans" from the taxpayer and guarantees of interbank lending, including up to £50 billion of taxpayer investment in the banks themselves. The government also bought shares in some banks, which have since been sold back to the market at an overall profit to the taxpayer.