The US will lose its role as a global financial "superpower" in the wake of the financial crisis, Peer Steinbrück, the German finance minister, said yesterday, blaming Washington for failing to take the regulatory steps that might have averted the crisis.

"The US will lose its status as the superpower of the world financial system. This world will become multi-polar" with the emergence of stronger, better capitalised centres in Asia and Europe, Mr Steinbrück told the German parliament. "The world will never be the same again."