The State Department shot down a report Thursday that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been in discussions with the White House about heading the World Bank.
"The story is completely untrue," Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines said in the United Arab Emirates, where Clinton was involved in international talks on Libya.
He said Clinton has not had any conversations with President Barack Obama, the White House "or anyone else about moving to the World Bank. She has expressed absolutely no interest in the job. She would not take it if offered."
Reuters, citing sources familiar with the discussions, said her discussions involved leaving the State Department next year to lead the World Bank.
"Hillary Clinton wants the job," said one source who knows the secretary well, Reuters reported. A second source also told Reuters Clinton wants the position.
The current bank president is Robert Zoellick, whose term does not end until 2012.
The bank declined to comment Thursday.
But at a news conference Wednesday in Olso, Norway, Zoellick was asked whether it's right that an American should lead the institution.
"I think this really is a decision for shareholders, and I think there are many talented non-Americans and Americans," he said. He added, "I think it's good for the U.S. to also have some responsibility, to have some of its nationals be engaged in multinational institutions."
Clinton has said she doesn't want to stay in her job if Obama wins a second term in 2012.
The nation's top diplomat also has said she neither has plans for a second White House bid nor interest in other posts, such as vice president or defense secretary.
"I am doing what I want to do right now and I have no intention or any idea even of running again," she told CNN in March. "I'm going to do the best I can at this job for the next two years."
Clinton's star power and work ethic were seen by Obama as crucial qualities for her role as the nation's top diplomat, even though she did not arrive in the job with an extensive foreign policy background.
She has embraced the globe-trotting aspects of the job, logging many hours on plane trips to nurture alliances with countries like Japan and Great Britain and to visit hot spots like Afghanistan and countries in the Middle East.
She has long been vocal on global development issues, especially the need for economic empowerment of women and girls in developing countries. She has made that part of her focus at State. Her husband, Bill Clinton, has also been involved in these issues through his philanthropic work at the Clinton Global Initiative.
The World Bank provides billions of dollars in development funds to the poorest countries and is also at the center of issues such as climate change, rebuilding countries emerging from conflict and recently the transitions to democracy in Tunisia and Egypt.