The Bank of England is poised to take revolutionary action to find a “resolution” to the problems faced by British banks unable to sell or refinance portfolios of mortgage-backed debt, Mervyn King, the governor, signalled on Wednesday.

Mr King also suggested that the Bank was becoming more open to interest rate cuts. His comments came as Hank Paulson, US Treasury secretary, offered strong support for the Federal Reserve’s handling of the Bear Stearns crisis.