In the five-point plan, issued after finance ministers met at the Treasury Department, the Group of 7 countries broadly endorsed the idea of taking ownership positions in banks — a strategy first adopted by Britain and now emerging as a major part of the rescue effort in the United States.

But the nations were vague on how or when that will happen, and did not endorse a proposal by Britain to provide coordinated guarantees of lending between banks, as a way to shake loose credit markets…

Many investors had hoped the meeting of the finance ministers from the world’s leading economies would result in more concrete steps to restore the paralyzed credit markets, and lay out a blueprint for recapitalizing banks.

“This fell short,” said Adam Posen, the deputy director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “It all seems to be moving toward direct injection of capital, but why aren’t they just saying it?”