IMF First Lady: Lagarde Is World's Top Banker

French finance minister Christine Lagarde has been confirmed as the new head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

She is the first woman to lead the lending organisation and has been a key figure in battling the eurozone debt crisis to which the IMF has handed over billions in bailout funds.

Ms Lagarde said she is "honoured and delighted" to have been appointed, in a message on her Twitter account.

She promised to serve the entire membership of the organisation and said that would be her overriding goal.

Chancellor George Osborne called the appointment "good news for the global economy and for Britain".

Ms Lagarde quickly became the front-runner to succeed scandal-hit Dominique Strauss-Kahn as leader.

She received the backing of America, Russia and China, which together hold a majority of votes on the IMF board.

They supported her candidacy over that of her opponent, Mexican central banker Agustin Carstens.

The IMF said that both were "well qualified candidates" but the Executive Board selected Ms Lagarde by consensus.

She begins her five-year term as managing director on July 5 and will immediately have to deal with concerns that Greece could default on its international loans.

Ms Lagarde has been the French finance minister since June 2007 and served as minister for foreign trade for two years before that.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to announce her replacement tomorrow.

Strauss-Kahn, who resigned last month after being charged with sexually assaulting a New York City hotel housekeeper, remains on bail. He denies the charges.