European Leaders Split on Rescue Strategy

PARIS, Oct. 2 -- European governments struggled Thursday to find a joint strategy to contain a growing banking crisis before it collapses additional shaky institutions and inflicts further damage on credit-starved European economies.

The leading economic powers in the 27-nation European Union were split over whether to devise a Europe-wide approach -- a bailout fund was mentioned -- or let each nation tend to its own endangered banks. Their differences threatened to undermine an emergency summit scheduled for Saturday in Paris among the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Britain to reassure European investors and guarantee that the financial system here stays solid.