Financial authorities of the world's 20 leading economies are pushing to issue a joint statement to soothe the global financial market that is reeling from a cut in the U.S. credit rating, Seoul's finance ministry said on Sunday.

   Choi Jong-ku, the top manager of the Seoul ministry's global market bureau, was among the G-20 deputy ministers and other equivalent officials who held an urgent teleconference at 7:30 a.m. local time. The officials joined efforts to fight havoc wreaked by the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating from the top-flight AAA to AA+ by Standard and Poor's.

   "The countries agreed to seek ways to feed investment confidence through the G-20 framework," an official from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said. "Although it's not confirmed, (the countries) are reviewing issuing a joint statement before Asian financial markets open."

   The credit agency cited the U.S.'s inability to manage its massive fiscal deficit and debt when it slashed the rating by one notch on Friday, sending the global financial market into a tailspin.

   During the early-morning call, the officials discussed the impact of the rating cut and their future responses to the U.S. rating reduction as well as the eurozone's fiscal crisis, the ministry said.

   Through the teleconference, the G-20 officials agreed to consider issuing a joint pledge to make efforts to soothe the global financial market, the official said.

   During the discussion, the U.S. side highlighted the fact that two other key credit rating agencies, Moody's and Fitch, vowed to keep their U.S. ratings unchanged, which may prevent its markets from an unexpected nosedive, the official noted.

   "If the statement is issued in a way that boosts investor trust toward U.S. government bonds, that may contribute to market stabilization," he added.

   Lael Brainard, the U.S. Treasury under secretary for international affairs, was among the participants in the teleconference that included countries like Germany, Canada, Japan, Britain and Brazil, the Seoul ministry said.

Source: Yonhap News (August 7, 2011)