Credit Crunch Super Fund May Be Half Planned Size

The three U.S. banks assembling a super fund aimed at alleviating the global credit crunch are scaling back its size due to a lack of interest from the financial firms it's supposed to help, the Wall Street Journal said in its online edition, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The fund -- originally viewed as a $100 billion fund which would buy assets from struggling investment vehicles -- may now end up being half that size, the Journal said.

 

Bank of America

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[BAC  45.45    0.22  (+0.49%)   ] , Citigroup

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[C  33.88    0.19  (+0.56%)   ] and JPMorgan Chase

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[JPM  45.59    0.69  (+1.54%)   ] are spearheading an effort to raise billions of dollars for the fund that is supposed to help structured investment vehicles sell hard-to-value paper they hold without further unnerving already jittery credit markets.

Sources familiar with the banks' plans said they are proceeding with the fund despite the smaller size, the Journal said.