WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Finance officials
from the Group of Seven (G-7) announced here Friday a plan of action to battle
the ongoing global financial crisis.
"The G-7 agrees today that the current situation
calls for urgent and exceptional action," said a statement released by the U.S.
Treasury Department announcing the plan of action.
Group of Seven central bank governors pose for a group photo after their meeting at the Treasury Department in Washington, the Unuted States, October 10, 2008. (L-R) are: Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer, President of Germany's Bundesbank Axel A. Weber, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke, Italy's central bank governor Mario Draghi, Japan's central bank governor Masaaki Shirakawa, Bank of England governor Mervyn King, President of the European Central Bank Jean Claude Trichet and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. (Xinhua/Zhang Yan)Photo
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"We
commit to continue working together to stabilize financial markets and restore
the flow of credit, to support global economic growth," it said.
According to the statement, the G-7 will "take
decisive action and use all available tools to support systematically important
financial institutions and prevent their failure."
The world's seven major economies will also take all
necessary steps to unfreeze credit and money markets and ensure that banks and
other financial institutions have broad access to liquidity and funding.
It will "ensure that our banks and other major
financial intermediaries, as needed, can raise capital from public as well as
private sources, in sufficient amounts to re-establish confidence and permit
them to continue lending to households and businesses."
Some G7 finance ministers walk
out of the Treasury Department after their meeting in Washington, the United States,
October 10, 2008. (Xinhua/Zhang Yan) Photo
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Meanwhile, member of the group will ensure that "our
respective national deposit insurance and guarantee programs are robust and
consistent so that our retail depositors will continue to have confidence in the
safety of their deposits."
In addition, the G-7 will "take action, where
appropriate, to restart the secondary markets for mortgages and other
securitized assets."
The plan of action was announced after G-7 finance
ministers and central bank governors met here Friday before the annual meetings
of the International Monetary Fund and its sister institution World Bank.
The G-7 meeting, which brought together financial
officials of the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Italy and
Canada, was held amid a stunning loss of confidence in the global financial
system that has sent markets into a freefall.
"The actions should be taken in ways that protect taxpayers and avoid potentially damaging effects on other countries," the statement said, adding that "we will use macroeconomic policy tools as necessary and appropriate."
G7 finance ministers pose for a group photo after their meeting at the Treasury Department in Washington, The United States, October 10, 2008. (L-R) are: Jim Flaherty of Canada, Christine Lagarde of France, Peer Steinbrueck of Germany, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Italy's Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti, Shoichi Nakagawa of Japan, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Alister Darling and Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker.(Xinhua/Zhang Yan) Photo Gallery>>>
"We will strengthen further our cooperation and work
with others to accomplish this plan," the G-7 pledged.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 10
(Xinhua) -- President George W. Bush said on Friday that the United States,
together with other nations, can cope with the current financial crisis.
"The American people need to know: that the United States
government is acting; we will continue to act to resolve this crisis and restore
stability to our markets," Bush said at the White House. Full story
"Many emerging markets and developing economies are not
immune to the spillovers of the ongoing global crisis, with some countries more
affected than others," said the group of 24 countries (G-24) from Latin America,
Asia and Africa in a communique following their meeting. Full story
