IMF chief: hard to argue for U.S. IMF quota cut

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Friday it was difficult to make arguments in favor of cutting U.S. voting power in the institution as a bigger voice is given to major emerging economies.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that a reduction in Washington's IMF quota to 15 percent from the current 17 percent level would not make sense if the quotas are linked to economic weight.

"If you are linked, then the problem is that by any measure, it (the United States) should have more than the share it has today," Strauss-Kahn said, answering questions after a speech on the aftermath of the financial crisis.

He also said he believed that the Group of 20 rich and developing nations, a group that last week assumed the mantle as the world's premier economic forum, should likely have its membership revised. The G20 needs representation in Africa, he said.

(Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Tim Ahmann)