Mervyn King has called for "more boredom" in UK banking
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has warned action is needed to prevent the current financial malaise spreading.
Mr Brown said the first priority was "to stop the contagion to other countries, including in eastern Europe" where there were "problems emerging".
He added the IMF would have to create a new fund to help struggling nations.
It comes as the Bank of England said the world's financial firms had now lost £1.8 trillion ($2.8 trillion) as a result of the continuing credit crisis.
