France's Lagarde poised to become next IMF chief

Washington: French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde on Tuesday will likely be named the next head of the International Monetary Fund despite a strong challenge to Europe's traditional hold on the job.

An informal survey by Reuters of voting countries indicated Lagarde should easily get the majority support needed over Mexico's central bank governor, Agustin Carstens, to become the next managing director of the global lender.

Carstens picked up endorsements from Canada and Australia late on Friday in a significant challenge to Europe's grip on the post, but it is unlikely to change the outcome.

The 24-strong IMF board of member countries will meet on Tuesday to try to reach a decision, and will aim to reach a consensus without driving the matter to a formal vote.

On Monday, board officials were in consultations in an effort to determine whether either candidate had a clear majority, according to IMF board and European officials.

The race has been one of the most hotly contested in IMF history. Developing countries have aggressively urged that the process be based on qualifications and not on nationality, despite Europe's large voting bloc.

The determining voice will be the United States, which has been silent on who it supports. The Obama administration is widely expected to back the 55-year-old Lagarde to preserve the long-standing convention with Europe under which Americans hold both the IMF No 2 spot and the presidency of the World Bank.

Japan and China, which rank second and third behind the United States in voting influence, have also refrained from publicly supporting any candidate. However, IMF board officials said both countries are likely to vote for Lagarde, and the head of China's central bank told Dow Jones Newswire on Monday that China had expressed "quite full support" for Lagarde.

Washington holds close to 17 per cent of the vote, while European nations account for somewhere between 40 to 47 per cent.

Countries such as Egypt, Indonesia, South Korea and French-speaking African nations early on declared their support for Lagarde, but have only marginal voting power.