WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- On top of bailing out a floundering Citigroup Inc., the current administration could take additional steps to help the financial system, President George W. Bush said Monday morning, noting that President-elect Barack Obama would be informed about any moves.

"The decision was made to safeguard Citi. We have made these kinds of decisions in the past, and if need be, we're going to make these kind of decisions to safeguard our financial system in the future," Bush told reporters outside the Treasury Department following a meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other officials.

The president added that anytime his administration makes a 'big decision" during the transition period, Obama and his team "will be informed." Further, Bush said, Paulson is "working closely" with Obama's transition team.

"It's important for the American people to know that there is close cooperation," Bush commented. "It's important for the American people to know that we will safeguard the financial system."

Late Sunday, the federal government agreed to a $326 billion plan to shore up Citigroup C, -2.12% , the latest bailout of a troubled U.S. financial giant. Brian Bethune, chief U.S. economist with IHS Global Insight, wrote that the Citigroup bailout "breaks new territory in terms of further scaling up the case-by-case approach" that the government has been taking to deal with financial system stresses.

"We are definitely navigating through uncharted territory in the scale of the economic and financial crisis and the magnitude of the government response required to contain it," Bethune said. "Perhaps the ultimate reality check is that the U.S. government could have purchased Citigroup outright for about $25 billion at the end of last week, which is far less that the $45 billion in capital that the Treasury has pumped in to the capital base of the institution."

With rising job losses and multiyear highs for jobless claims, Bush also recently signed an extension of unemployment-insurance benefits.

Monday afternoon, Obama unveiled key members of his economic team, tapping New York Federal Reserve President Tim Geithner as his pick for Treasury secretary and Harvard economist Lawrence Summers to run the National Economic Council from the White House. Obama also stressed that the economy needs immediate and bold action for recovery.

Gail Hillebrand, director of the financial-services campaign for Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, said that Obama's administration should require that require that consumers are treated "fairly" by every financial institution that receives government money or guarantees.

"In light of the $300 billion guarantee announced for Citi, this is especially relevant," Hillebrand added. "If the banks want the taxpayers to bail them out, they should abandon unfair credit practices, or be forced to do so by government."

Obama recently announced a two-year plan to save or create 2.5 million jobs. See related story.