MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay -- Uruguay's government sent a bill to congress on Saturday that would partially freeze some bank deposits to halt a harrowing financial crisis that has sparked looting and a sharp tumble in its currency.

As the tiny South American nation of 3 million people awaited official confirmation of a U.S.-led financial aid package to stabilize a deepening recession, Congress was expected to give approval to the deposit freeze.

Uruguay's agriculture, tourism and banking-based economy has been ravaged by spreading fallout from financial crises in neighboring giants Brazil and Argentina.

Desperate to halt a run that has seen a third of savings pulled from banks this year, the government closed all banks for most of last week and then said on Friday some fixed-term deposits would not be returned for up to three years.

Economy Minister Alejandro Atchugarry told Reuters the government would not divert any more funds to rescue banks crippled by low liquidity after the deposit exodus. "The government will not invest another cent in maintaining banks," Atchugarry said. "Once we reopen banks, the main concept will be that every bank that opens should be able to meet liquidity requirements set by the Central Bank."

The cash crunch following the bank closure sparked some looting of supermarkets late last week, the worst violence in a decade in a country normally known for its social and financial stability in an otherwise tumultuous region.

The streets of the riverside capital of Montevideo were calm on Saturday, however.

Atchugarry said the suspension of bank activity might be lifted today, depending on whether Congress approves the deposit freeze and the arrival of definitive news on a multilateral aid package.

A U.S. Treasury spokesman said on Friday that aid talks with Uruguay had been fruitful and that the United States backed aid from multilateral lenders such as the International Monetary Fund. The IMF said an announcement on Uruguay could be made over the weekend.

Uruguayan senators from the ruling coalition said on Friday they had been told by President Jorge Batlle that the aid would total $1.5 billion.