The Group of 20 summit held last week in Cannes was largely inconclusive. On one issue, however, a clear message was sent: countries outside the eurozone will not pour money into the European financial stability facility. At the most, they will increase their contributions to the International Monetary Fund.

An increase in contributions to the IMF is not, per se, a bad thing. Over recent years, the scale of the challenges facing most world economies has increased dramatically. Slow growth and restricted liquidity are problems facing not just the eurozone, but also a number of emerging countries.

As the IMF was set up with the aim of dealing with balance of payments problems, increasing its firepower at a time of uncertainty would be a logical step. Doing so could also lift the morale of the markets, which would be reassured by the presence of a larger safety net for countries at risk.