Top finance officials have debated the next steps for the recovering global economy, with European countries pushing for a crackdown on bankers' bonuses while the US stressed the need to boost bank reserves to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis.

The Group of 20 countries were also discussing so-called exit strategies from the recent massive economic stimulus, although all agreed that withdrawing the massive amounts of money injected into the ailing world economy any time soon could risk a double-dip recession.

Developing countries, meanwhile, used the gathering Friday to press for reform of global financial governance, proposing shifts in voting power at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in favour of developing countries.

Finance ministers and central bank officials from rich and developing countries representing 80 percent of world economic output are convening in London through Saturday amid mounting signs of at least a modest economic upturn, with Japan, Germany, France and Australia all recording growth in the second quarter. Britain is widely expected to do so in the third quarter.

But the mood remained subdued, with a uniform warning that it is too early to declare the end of the crisis.

"The global economy still faces great uncertainty, and significant risks remain to economic and financial stability," Brazil, Russia, India and China - the so-called BRIC quartet – said after they held a mini-summit ahead of the main G-20 talks.

The timing of a so-called exit strategy is not yet agreed upon among finance officials.

Germany has pushed for G-20 nations to start talking about when and how they will withdraw stimulus measures, but other EU nations were cool to that, saying they wanted talk and not action right now.

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