Lagarde undecided on 2nd IMF term

Christine Lagarde hasn't decided whether to seek a second term as managing director of the International Monetary Fund, she said Sunday.

"It's possible," said Lagarde during an interview on France 2 television, according to Bloomberg News. "I haven't yet made a decision. It's something that is both personal and professional."

Lagarde, the first woman named to the powerful global financial post, was appointed in 2011 after Timothy Geithner, then the U.S. Treasury secretary, said the U.S. would back her over competitor Agustín Carstens, the governor of Mexico's central bank.

The decision sealed Lagarde's ascent amid contention that a candidate from the world's emerging markets should be appointed. All 11 managing directors of the IMF have come from Europe since the Washington-based institution was created following World War II.

Lagarde's tenure has included dealing with major financial issues ranging from the Greek debt crisis to African economic recovery after the Ebola outbreak. She has also discussed the question of integrating China's currency into the IMF's Special Drawing Rights Basket — supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the global financial organization.

In an unusual foray into a member nation's monetary decision-making, the LaGarde-led IMF in June said the U.S. Federal Reserve should wait until the first half of 2016 before raising interest rates. U.S. Inflation remains too low and there are "significant uncertainties as to the future resilience of economic growth," the IMF cautioned in a report.

During the wide-ranging TV interview, Lagarde, a former French finance minister, said she was not interested in seeking public office. Asked whether she might seek the French presidency in 2017, she said "it's not at all a subject for me," Reuters reported.