The answer may be simpler than most expect: if Turkey doesn't prevent the panic from escalating, there may be nobody who can help it.

That was the implied message delivered today by the head of the Bank for International Settlements, Agustin Carstens, who said that International Monetary Fund does not have sufficient lending capacity to respond, if a major new emerging market crisis affecting several countries suddenly erupted.

Carstens, the former corpulent head of the Bank of Mexico, said that last reviews of IMF quotas, how much member countries pay in and the voting rights that go with that, had failed to ensure it had sufficient financial resources. Which, of course, leaves the question open: if the IMF no longer has the resources to rescue emerging markets and China's economy is now contracting, who does?