IMF top deputy leaving fund amid leadership changes

• Georgieva, who has been at the helm of the institution since September, is expected to adjust the division of labor among her deputies.
• The IMF said the search for Lipton's successor will start shortly -- but that will depend on who the US Treasury will nominate to the post.

WASHINGTON: The top American serving at the International Monetary Fund will leave his post at the end of the month amid a reshuffling of the top leadership, the fund said Friday.

David Lipton, 66, who has been in the number two position at the Washington-based lender since September 2011, will be replaced by newly installed IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva "in the context of changes she will be making to the leadership team," the IMF said in a statement.

Georgieva, who has been at the helm of the institution since September, is expected to adjust the division of labor among her deputies.

Lipton is the longest-serving first deputy managing director, and was just over three years into his second five-year term in the role traditionally filled by an American.

The IMF said the search for Lipton's successor will start shortly -- but that will depend on who the US Treasury will nominate to the post.

The IMF chief praised Lipton for his work at the fund, including in beefing up the institution's early warning system to financial trouble.

"David has provided an invaluable service to the Fund's membership and the global economy more broadly with his outstanding economic experience and expertise," she said, noting his efforts "to further enhance the rigor of the Fund's analytical work.

Georgieva also will replace Carla Grasso, who served as the fund's chief administrator, who is also departing the fund at the end of February after five years.