IMF official questions Fed's global role in next crisis

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - A senior International Monetary Fund official publicly questioned on Thursday whether the U.S. Federal Reserve might feel constrained from lending a hand to other nations in the event of another global financial crisis.

IMF First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton made the comment at the World Economic Forum during a panel discussion about how to prevent another crisis, noting that a new crisis might make it politically hard for the Fed to act next time.

During the 2008 crisis, the Fed stepped in to help other nations' central banks, extending large currency swap lines that effectively extended U.S. dollar liquidity to them.

(Reporting by Mark Bendeich)