Merit to be key in picking new IMF chief: Lipsky

Selection of a new leader for the International Monetary Fund should be made on the basis of merit, and it will not be unusual if it takes some time, acting Managing Director John Lipsky said on Thursday.

"There's been agreement among our membership that the process of selection of the managing director should be open, transparent and merit-based," he said after addressing the Peterson Institute.

"Hopefully, open means open. Hopefully, open doesn't mean open to some," he said when asked about the process of picking a successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned as he faces charges in New York of sexual assault and attempting to rape a hotel maid.