US denies Clinton seeking to be World Bank chief

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WASHINGTON: Top US administration officials vehemently denied suggestions Thursday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in talks to lead the World Bank.

"It's 100 percent untrue," Philippe Reines, a close advisor to Clinton, told.

"To be crystal clear," he added in a second statement, "Secretary Clinton has not had any conversations with the president, the White House or anyone about moving to the World Bank.

"She has expressed absolutely no interest in the job. She would not take it if offered."

White House spokesman Jay Carney also chipped in, saying: "The story is completely untrue."

US officials were referring to a report from the Reuters news agency that said Clinton was in discussions with the White House to leave her job next year and take over as head of the World Bank, replacing Robert Zoellick should he leave at the end of his term in mid-2012.

A source close to the global lender had earlier this week also indicated that the United States was studying her possible candidacy at the World Bank, where an American has traditionally holds the top job.

"It's a strong, serious hypothesis which they are working on," said the source, who was familiar with the matter but asked not to be named.

"There have been lots of signals" for the past months, the source added, saying they were mainly coming from the US Treasury Department.

A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment on the report.

Clinton has publicly said on several occasions that she will step down as secretary of state at the end of the current administration, and speculation has swirled around her future plans. (AFP)