If, as Mr Sants implied, the new G-SIFI capital increment settles at around 3%, that will be significantly less than the optimal level calculated by David Miles of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee in an influential paper.

BBC: Sants: We wanted banks to hold more capital

That's guanxi with a capital G.

CNN: Election Watch

"The anxieties among the Koreans and other emerging nations are that the G-20 may not last, " said Avinash Persaud, chairman of Intelligence Capital, who attended recent G-20 deputy finance minister meetings.

CNN: Economic rifts loom as G-20 leaders meet

Mr Sants said it was "no secret" that the FSA and the Bank of England had been arguing on the international Basel Committee and the Financial Stability Board for a bigger increase in the capital held by G-SIFIs or the mega-banks than was desired by regulators from other countries, such as France and Germany.

BBC: Sants: We wanted banks to hold more capital

Basel I was reached in 1988, set minimum capital requirements for banks and is enforced by law in the G-10 countries.

FORBES: Basel Barriers: How capital requirements would impede progress in the sovereign debt crisis

By allowing banks to hold only 1.6 percent in capital when investing in triple-A rated securities (e.g. tranches of subprime mortgages) or lending to sovereigns (i.e. like Greece, Italy and Spain), the regulations implied an authorized leverage of 62.5 to 1.

FORBES: Connect