The Bush administration will invest about $125 billion in nine of the biggest US banks, including Citigroup Inc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, the latest step in a global drive to shore up confidence in the financial system.

The proposed cash injections in exchange for preferred shares are part of a $700 billion rescue approved by Congress and follow similar moves by European leaders to unfreeze credit markets by helping beleaguered banks.

The other companies are Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Merrill Lynch & Co, Morgan Stanley, State Street Corp and Bank of New York Mellon Corp, said people briefed on the plan.