Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve has approached Canadian banks and insurers to consider acquiring U.S. assets to improve short-term liquidity and help bolster financial institutions coping with more than $500 billion in losses, the Financial Post reported

The talks included phone calls from Fed officials and at least one intensive discussion about a possible rescue, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the contacts.

Last Updated: October 8, 2008 02:22 EDT