The US Government is facing extreme pressure to accelerate the speed at which it launches its $700 billion bailout amid fears at the Federal Reserve that the rescue package will not be implemented quickly enough to have any effect.

The Times has learnt that senior officials at America's central bank doubt that the bailout fund will work unless it is launched in some form in the next two weeks.

At the moment, the US Treasury, which controls the fund, is working to a five-week schedule to get the rescue package up and running. Under current plans, the bailout fund is not expected to buy its first distressed mortgage-backed bonds until after the US presidential election on November 4.

It is understood that the Fed believes that this will be too late to help the banks, which are suffocating under current market conditions. Credit markets have frozen and many banks have been cut off from being able to borrow from each other.

At the same time, The Times has also learnt that the US Treasury has been overwhlemed with requests from executives from other distressed industries, including the US car industry and America's struggling airline business, seeking a similar bailout scheme for themselves.

It is understood that Henry Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, believes that it is the Treasury's job to address the root problems of the banking crisis and not to bail out other companies from non-financial sectors.

Currently, Mr Paulson is working to launch his $700 billion bailout fund, which will buy distressed bonds held by troubled banks. Earlier this week, the former chairman of Goldman Sachs appointed Neel Kashkari, a protege of his from the Wall Street bank, to run the fund. Mr Kashkari had been working closely with Mr Paulson during the negotiations over the passage of the Troubled Asset Relief Programme on Capitol Hill.

Mr Paulson is also considering a range of other forms of financial assistance, which include the Treasury using taxpayer funds to buy stakes in Wall Street banks. Under such a plan, the cash received in return for the shareholding would provide much-needed capital for the banks.

The doubts harboured by the US Federal Reserve chime with anxieties on Wall Street about the feasibility of the bailout fund. Since the rescue package was approved by lawmakers in Washington, it has not managed to comfort traders. Instead, fears of a global financial crisis have spread and stock markets across the world have tumbled.

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