Officials from the world’s major economies on Thursday pledged to prevent Europe’s debt crisis from undermining banks and financial markets and said the euro zone’s rescue fund could be bolstered, Reuters reported.

Under pressure from investors to show action, finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 (G20) economies said they would take all steps needed to calm the global financial system.

“We commit to take all necessary actions to preserve the stability of banking systems and financial markets as required,” the group, including the United States and China, said in a communique after a dinner meeting on Thursday.
 
Shares of several European banks have tumbled, and funding costs have risen, as investors worried about bank exposure to debt issued by Greece and other debt-heavy European countries.

World stocks slumped on Thursday to their lowest level in 13 months, hurt by the risk of a new U.S. recession and weaker economic data from China as well as Europe’s debt problems. European markets dropped sharply again this morning, and the U.S. markets opened lower as well.