ABSTRACT
The 2009 Group of Twenty (G20) summits occurred during the period of maximum G20-directed reformist zeal, underpinned by a clear policy consensus and policy narrative, and the political capital of the G20 leaders. In two G20 summits during phase two of the evolution of the G20, the extreme severity of the immediate financial crisis morphed into a new economic challenge as the global economic outlook deteriorated and many industrialized economies entered severe recessions. The package deal agreed in London under Gordon Brown's direction was subsequently supported and strengthened by US President Barack Obama at the Pittsburgh Summit. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) would be the principal coordinating body for the raft of regulatory work specified in the two-part Action Plan agreed in London. The loud North American and European voice, during the crisis management and concrete reform phases, partially obscured a significant change in the global architecture of economic diplomacy that became more visible from 2010 onwards.
