International banks should move to fuel growth in a bid to quicken a global economic recovery, the governor of the Bank of England said on Monday.

Speaking after a meeting of international bank chiefs, Sir Eddie George warned that it will take longer than initially thought for the global economic outlook to improve.

But he said that low inflation meant that central bankers had ammunition to cut rates and fuel a recovery.

In recent weeks banks across the world have cut rates - with Britain and the European Central Bank following the US last week in cutting rates. In Japan, rates are currently close to zero.

George was speaking after a meeting with representatives of the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan amongst others.