Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack, Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit, JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon, and Bank of America Corp. CEO Kenneth Lewis were all asked to attend. There was some speculation that Paulson might have expanded the invitation to at least three other CEOs from various regional banks, the people said.

It was expected that whatever comes out of the meeting will be used to put the finishing touches on the plan, the people said.

The discussions take place against the backdrop of a presidential election, with about three weeks left before Americans go to the polls.

The administration’s interim bailout package chief, Neel Kashkari, said early Monday the government is moving quickly to implement the rescue program, including consulting with private law firms on how to buy stakes in banks to boost their cash reserves.

He spoke as The Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank jointly announced they would work together to provide unlimited short-term funds to make money available to ease the credit freeze. The Bank of Japan said it was considering a similar move.