Costa de Sauipe (Brazil), Dec 17 (Prensa Latina) The leaders of the Latin American countries discussed steps to deal with the global financial crisis at the 36th summit of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) here.Ecuador President Rafael Correa Tuesday proposed the formation of a Bank of the South and a joint fund of Latin American countries’ foreign exchange reserves.

The bank would strengthen fiscal policies and promote employment and public investment, he said.

Correa also proposed a new financial structure, with a common currency for commercial exchange instead of the US dollar.

Leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean have gathered at the northeastern Brazilian resort of Costa do Sauipe for the summits of four regional blocs - Mercosur, Unasur, Rio Group and the Conference of Latin American and Caribbean countries - Tuesday and Wednesday.