Asian bank head says Lagarde 'perfect' for IMF

The president of the Asian Development Bank on Thursday backed French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde to take over as head of the IMF global lender. "Personally I think she is a perfect candidate," said the ADB's president, Haruhiko Kuroda of Japan, hailing "her capacity and talent" which he said had impressed Asian ministers and bank governors at an ADB meeting in May. "ADB has no power or any influence over the decision to be made," he added, however, speaking at a conference in Paris. Most major Asian economies have not expressed public backing for Lagarde, nor for the other contender to head the fund, Mexican central bank governor Agustin Carstens. China and India, along with other countries, have complained about the IMF tradition of appointing a European as managing director.