U.S. Treasury's top international hand to step down

U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs Lael Brainard delivers a speech in Moscow February 15, 2013. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lael Brainard, a top economic diplomat at the U.S. Treasury, will step down from her post on Friday, a Treasury official said. As undersecretary of the Treasury for international affairs since 2010, Brainard, 51, has played a key role in pushing China toward a flexible currency and pressing Europe to tackle its debt crisis more aggressively. She reportedly has been under consideration to fill a vacancy at the Federal Reserve. (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Eric Walsh)