First, some governments took on bank ownership in order to ensure the replenishment of capital that had been too thin to start with and that was depleted by the losses on securities and loans. Table 1 shows public capital injections to the financial sector for several key economies.
The amounts in mainland Europe could quite possibly grow soon as a result of the forthcoming stress tests. Note that this is not necessarily a permanent burden since, if carried out successfully, the ownership stake can be sold again in due course.