New IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned Sunday that a US debt default would jeopardise global economic stability and urged warring American politicians to forge a compromise budget deal.
A default "would certainly jeopardise the stability, but not just the stability of the US economy, it would jeopardise the stability at large," the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund told ABC News.
"And that's clearly against the purpose and the mission of the International Monetary Fund. So we are - we are concerned."
Without an agreement, she said she could see "interest hikes, stock markets taking a huge hit and real nasty consequences, not just for the United States, but for the entire global economy, because the US is such a big player and matters so much for other countries."
Lagarde told ABC's "This Week" that she did not expect Washington to end up in default, despite tense negotiations between the White House and Republican leaders on measures to increase the US debt ceiling.