By Marc Jones
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Suma Chakrabarti took a big step towards securing a second term as head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Thursday when France gave the former UK civil servant its backing.
Chakrabarti has been at the helm of the London-based development bank since 2012 and the move by France could deter potential challengers for the role, such as Poland's central bank governor Marek Belka.
"I understand that the French have this week written to the Secretary-General of the EBRD expressing their support for Mr Chakrabarti," said a European finance ministry official who requested anonymity.
"It is of course still early in the process, but the French letter follows other countries who have already spoken up in his favor."
A EBRD source confirmed that the letter had also been sent to the bank's governors. Nominations for the job close on March 11 and if there is a challenger the bank's members will vote at the bank's annual meeting in May.
The EBRD was created in 1991, originally to invest in the former Soviet bloc countries of eastern Europe to rebuild their economies and improve communist-era infrastructure.
Chakrabarti's four-year term has been a difficult one for the bank. In 2014, the EBRD stopped lending in Russia, traditionally its biggest market, after Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine. It suffered saw its first annual loss since the 2007-08 financial crisis.
But the EBRD has also continued to expand its reach. It is has started lending in euro zone crisis countries Greece and Cyprus. Lebanon is expected to be next, while China has become a member.
(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by William Schomberg/Mark Heinrich)