The US stepped up its call for reform of the International Monetary Fund on Monday, calling for a shake-up of its executive board as well as its shareholding structure to give greater weight to emerging economies.

David McCormick, the undersecretary for international affairs at the US Treasury, proposed cutting the number of executive directors from 24 to 20 and eliminating the rule that reserves positions for the US, Japan, Germany, France and Britain. The proposal is likely to result in fewer European directors on the IMF board.