Regardless of their views on the desirability and timing of the move, central bank watchers around the world agreed that the coordinated action on 12 December last year was unprecedented. Never before have central banks jointly acted to alleviate money market fears of illiquidity.

The background to the joint action - first discussed in an emergency meeting between the governors of the central banks in question during the G20 summit in Cape Town in November - was the protracted and at times