Rubin has called for a `` new openness in international finance,'' in a major policy address intended to lay out US goals in advance of pivotal international finance meetings starting in Washington.

We must move energetically to meet the immediate challenges of the crisis and to build a modern architecture for a market-based system ``one that is far less susceptible to systemic instability,'' Rubin told a business audience.

Rubin said that the International Monetary Fund, whose handling of the currency turmoil has been severely criticised, must overhaul its operations.

He also called on Japan to ``urgently implement strong effective measures'' to boost domestic growth and clean up its troubled banking sector.

And he said that ``private sector burden sharing is critical.'' Criticsof more than 100 billion dollars in IMF-supported bailouts have charged that much of the money has simply gone into the pockets of multinational banks and wealthy investors who made bad decisions.

Rubin said a special conference of finance ministers and central bank presidents proposed by president Bill Clinton will issue preliminary recommendations based on work already done by deputies who have been working on the issue since February.

He said the group had found protecting countries without rewarding bad investment decisions ``exceedingly complicated.'' Some initial recommendations will cover new types of bonds requiring all bond holders to work together in times of economic distress.

Rubin said the working group's report next week would also call for increased openness by the IMF and by individual countries as a way to alert foreign investors to potential problems before they reach a crisis stage.

The report will also spell out proposals to boost the adequacy of banking supervision in developingcountries and overall regulation of all financial institutions.

Weak banks were a primary factor contributing to the financial turmoil that began 15 months ago in Thailand, then spread to other Asian nations and leveled the Russian economy last month.

The crisis is now threatening to move closer to US shores with a number of countries in Latin America coming under the same pressure from panicked investors seeking to flee.

The United States has been working behind the scenes with the IMF and others to put together perhaps $30 billion in bailout support for Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America.

In his remarks, Rubin praised the efforts being made by Brazilian authorities and said, ``the United States believes that the economic well-being of Brazil is critically important not only to our economy, but to the entire hemisphere.''

Rubin's comments in New York echoed earlier remarks by IMF managing director Michel Camdessus and World Bank president James Wolfensohn meeting with reporters inWashington.

Camdessus said the world's seven richest countries must push for stronger growth to offset steep recessions in many Asian nations and Russia. He endorsed the decision by the Federal Reserve to cut a key US interest rate by a quarter-point on Tuesday and suggested that European monetary authorities should take similar steps.

Camdessus said the upcoming discussions, which will be part of the annual meeting of the 182-nation IMF and its sister lending organisation, the World bank, should focus on ways to improve timely release of key economic data so the IMF and investors can better spot troubles and a review of proposals to upgrade banking regulation. He said the world's seven wealthiest countries would need to do their part to promote growth.

Wolfensohn, speaking separately to reporters, also called for G-7 action.

The IMF took the lead in assembling more than $100 billion in bailout packages for Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and Russia but has watched as the Asian nations have plungedinto steeper recessions.

And in August, a botched currency devaluation and partial default on foreign loans by Russia sparked a worldwide plunge in stock markets, including in the United States, and caused investors to begin fleeing many countries in Latin America.