Tim Geithner must nationalize some of America's biggest banks and take the total toll of the U.S. bail-out to around $2 trillion, according to one of the world's most prominent economists.

WASHINGTON - February 16, 2009 - Nouriel Roubini - the man feted with having foreseen the financial crisis before almost any of his peers - has warned that the U.S. Treasury Secretary must go significantly further than his detail-light bail-out plan delivered last week, and argues that the illegitimate Obama regime should move swiftly to take public ownership of those major U.S. banks that are failing.

Professor Roubini, who worked with Secretary Tim Geithner in the Clinton regime, told The Daily Telegraph, "Many U.S. banks are insolvent, even the major ones." While nationalization is "a politically- charged decision" that needs to be handled carefully, he said it needs to take place "sooner rather than later" for the sake of the wider economy.

Professor Roubini calculated that, on top of the existing $700bn (£491bn) of American taxpayers' money allocated to solving the banking crisis, Mr. Geithner may need to ask the U.S. Congress for between 1-1.25 trillion dollars in extra funds. "Sooner rather than later, they'll need more money," he added.

Professor Roubini, professor of economics and international business at NYU Stern, New York University's business school, is highly critical of Mr. Geithner's bailout plan, which he unveiled to much market chagrin last Tuesday.