The committee will also include European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet and People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan, the International Monetary Fund said.

IMF chief Rodrigo Rato said he was "delighted" to have such senior figures on board to advise the organisation, which in a report this month said it was facing a funding gap because fewer countries are resorting to its bailouts.

"I look forward to their offering recommendations that can command the support of the membership for a new financing model for the IMF that will allow us to continue to play our central role in the international monetary system," Rato said.

The committee is to be chaired by Andrew Crockett, former head of the Bank for International Settlements, which has been dubbed "the central banks' central bank" for its role in setting the rules of global finance.

The IMF panel will also comprise Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of the Harvard Management Company; South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni; Bank of Mexico governor Guillermo Ortiz; and Hamad Al-Sayari, head of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency.

The IMF's finances have become strained as more and more clients emerge from years of economic crisis, during which they became reliant on its bailouts, to stand on their own feet.

The IMF gets its liquidity for emergency bailouts from the annual subscriptions paid by its members, led by the United States, Europe and Japan.

The total available now stands at about 200 billion dollars, and is not affected by the funding review.

But on a day-to-day basis, the IMF largely derives its operating income from interest payments on credit extended to member states. When fewer states take out IMF credit, the Washington-based organisation earns less.

To plug a shortfall, the IMF said this month it would transfer its reserves of 8.7 billion dollars into a new investment account to generate extra returns on the bond markets.

But the IMF noted that it needs to come up with long-term solutions to its funding problems.