Bush said his administration was doing everything in its power to stave off the biggest market disruption since the Great Depression.
And while discussion of the financial crisis dominated at the G7, talk shifted today to the World Bank and its policy setting committee and concerns about how the fallout would affect developing and poor nations.
As a result of the downturn, developed countries are not expected to help 28 countries facing twin shocks of rising food and fuel prices, said former U.S. diplomat and trade negotiator Robert Zoellick. "For the poor, the costs of the crisis could be lifelong," he said.
In a joint statement the G-20 finance officials pledged to work together "to overcome the financial turmoil, and to deepen cooperation to improve the regulation, supervision and the overall functioning of the world's financial markets."
Under mounting pressure to stay viable, the automaker is said to be in merger talks with rival Chrysler LLC . The financial crisis has hit both companies hard.
Already GM has denied it's headed for bankruptcy and a tie-up of the two auto giants would be historic and cement GM's place as the global sales leader.
But a merger would be no easy task for the pair, each of which is struggling to survive amid slumping sales, a slowing economy and unprecedented credit crunch.
For GM to acquire Chrysler the company would need to get desperately need cash as part of the deal — and lots of it according to industry analysts.
"I think the auto makers who have seen there market cap drop and their business essentially evaporate are going to be watched very closely over the next week or two," Bussey said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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