Banking union top priority for euro zone: IMF's Lagarde

Implementing a banking union with powers to supervise all banks in the euro zone should be the currency bloc's top priority followed by closer budgetary coordination, International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde said on Friday.

"Banking union seems to us to be the first priority," Lagarde said during a meeting with top financial officials in Paris.

The economic situation in the euro zone remained fragile and governments should maintain a "reasonable" pace of budgetary consolidation to avoid crimping growth, she added.

(Reporting By Leigh Thomas; Writing by Nick Vinocur)