Mr Osborne said the cost of the scheme was a mystery
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The government announcement of further help for banks is an admission that a �37bn bailout announced last year has failed, the Tories have said.
The scheme, including insurance against losing more from bad debts, showed ministers had "achieved nothing", shadow chancellor George Osborne said.
But Chancellor Alistair Darling said the move would help end "uncertainty".
The Liberal Democrats likened the government scheme to "trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse".
In a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Darling said there was "no single remedy" and "no instant solution" to the credit crunch.
Company stakes
He added: "Together, my measures today remove uncertainty and accelerate a resumption of lending - a necessary precondition for recovery here and around the world."
Mr Darling said banks would be able to take up government insurance against their expected bad - or "toxic" - debts.
The Bank of England would be able to purchase up to �50bn worth of stakes in companies in all sectors of the economy.
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It's clear from the statement that the crisis in the banking sector is even more serious than three months ago
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Meanwhile, Northern Rock had been given extra time to repay its loans, while the government was increasing its stake in RBS to nearly 70% from 58%, he said.
Mr Darling urged other countries to follow Britain's lead on lending and stressed the need for stronger international collaboration.
He said: "We cannot risk a damaging worldwide spiral of weakened confidence and national-only policy solutions."
In October, it was announced that Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and HBOS would have a total of �37bn injected into them.
In return for the investment, the government got a say in how the banks are run, including controls over the bonuses paid to management.
'Not saved world'
Mr Osborne questioned whether this had worked and said the cost of the latest initiative would remain a "mystery".
He added: "The prime minister has finally been forced to confront the truth. He hasn't saved the world.
"He certainly hasn't saved this economy and he hasn't even saved the British banks yet."
Mr Osborne also said: "We have to make sure the threat of insolvent banks does not mean a threat of an insolvent country.
"The first bailout has failed. None of the measures and initiatives have worked. The government has achieved nothing and, as the prime minister and chancellor want the British people to put more of their money on the line, surely the time has come for accepting the responsibility.
"When will they realise that the buck stops with them?
"How is it possible to insure enormous amounts of bad debt if the Treasury does not know the risk?"
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said: "It's clear from the statement that the crisis in the banking sector is even more serious than three months ago.
"The government resembles somebody trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse."
He added: "What happened to the �37bn? Where did it go?"
A poll by Ipsos MORI suggests that 49% of full-time workers fear losing their jobs in the next year.
It also gives the Conservatives a 14-point lead over Labour. The Tories are up five points from December, at 44%, while Labour is down five points on 30%.
The poll suggests the Liberal Democrats have dropped two points to 17%.
Some 1,005 adults across Britain were telephoned between January 16 and 18. The data were weighted to reflect the population.
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