31.   Twelve leading Russian commercial banks announced Monday that they would pool together to resolve their inter-bank debts and protect depositors.

32.   While it will protect depositors, banks will probably have to reduce their total lending to improve their capital ratios, leading to a credit crunch, he said.

33.   Yet he also signaled his first priority will be to protect depositors, not banks.

34.   A series of bank and credit union failures has drained the fund, which is intended to protect depositors at Japanese financial institutions.

35.   Another measure was protecting depositors in the banking system.

36.   Assistance was given in the form of loans in order to protect depositors, he said.

37.   Authorities are responding to the problem on the basic principle of protecting depositors, he added, and are considering a new deposit insurance system.

38.   But share prices moved higher as investors welcomed an announcement by the Bank of Japan that it will extend unsecured loans to the troubled bank to protect depositors.

39.   Chernomyrdin, in a scripted interview with journalists, pledged to keep the ruble convertible, shore up the wobbly banking system and protect depositors.

40.   In a meeting Sunday, the central bank, the Finance Ministry and the Tokyo Metropolitan government agreed to lend funds to the credit union to protect depositors.