Facing threats of a global crash, the central banks have taken 'extraordinary' action on a scale not seen since the Great Depression of 1929, the Reserve Bank of India [Get Quote] said on Tuesday.

"Central bank interventions (to deal with the global financial turmoil) have been extraordinary and on a scale not seen since the Great Depression, demonstrating a resolve to act decisively against threats to financial stability," RBI said.

Recently, the Bank for International Supplement, the organisation that fosters cooperation between central banks, had also warned that the credit crisis could push world economies into a crash on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.

The 'Great Depression' started with the collapse of the US stock market in 1929 and was the largest economic depression in the world history and is used now as a benchmark on how far a modern economy could possibly fall.

The RBI said that the recent developments in the global financial system have heightened the uncertainty in the outlook.

It added that though the possible crisis in global finances "seems to have been averted, several vulnerabilities persist in the leading financial centres."

The Reserve Bank said even 'massive' interventions by central banks' could not defreeze market liquidity.

Though, the central bank pointed, the ultimate size of losses among the largest financial institutions and their capital requirement remains opaque, the balance sheets have become extremely sensitive to repricing and valuation changes.