BRICS Countries Gain Momentum for IMF Deputy Job, Lavrov Says

Emerging-market nations are gaining the support of world leaders for a bid to nominate a deputy to the next head of the International Monetary Fund, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

A consensus has almost been reached on selecting the new IMF chief, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at the Group of Eight summit on May 27. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin the same day said French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde’s candidacy for the job is "very strong."

Lagarde is vying to become France’s fifth IMF chief and maintain Europe’s hold on the position. While developing nations have called for an end to Europe’s 65-year hold on the post, they failed to unite behind one nominee. Brazil may back Lagarde in exchange for "a strategic position" for the nation’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega on the fund’s board, Rio de Janeiro-based O Globo reported on May 31.

The proposal by developing nations is a "very logical request and it was considered as very legitimate by all the participants of the G-8," Lavrov said in an interview in Moscow yesterday. The IMF should "give more voice to the countries, to the emerging economies which accumulate more financial and economic power. This fact must be reflected."

Lavrov didn’t name any candidates for the deputy’s job, which he said is a new position that would have to be created. The so-called BRICS emerging-market nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa aren’t seeking to replace any of the current deputies, he said.

The job of first deputy managing director, traditionally reserved for the U.S., is now held by John Lipsky, who is standing in for Dominique Strauss-Kahn. There are also two deputy managing directors, Naoyuki Shinohara and Nemat Shafik.

To contact the reporters on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net; Agnes Lovasz in London at alovasz@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net