The aim is to maximise the impact of moves taken by individual nations and minimise the scope for negative spillovers – for instance, the risk that blanket deposit guarantees in one country destabilises banks in others.

On this, there is much agreement in the G7, at least in the words of policymakers. In a speech this week, Hank Paulson, US Treasury secretary, insisted on the right of individual governments to take unilateral steps. But he added: “We must also take care to ensure that our actions are closely co-ordinated and communicated, so that the action of one country does not come at the expense of others or the stability of the system as a whole.”

The European Union's 27 finance ministers signed up to a similar set of conditions, allowing each country to take individual steps while agreeing not to allow their policies to spill over to others. Such sentiments are understandable since financial systems in G7 countries differ radically, in particular the US has a large non-bank financial sector, unlike European countries.