Stanley Fischer, the 67-year-old governor of the Israeli central bank, was notified late on Monday by the Board of Directors of the IMF that his bid to head the IMF has been disqualified because of his age.

Fischer was told on Monday night that the IMF would not regard him for the managing director position because the rules require incoming applicants to be younger than 65, a statement released by the Israeli central bank said.

Following the disqualification Fischer said on Tuesday that he “regrets that age limits” disqualified his bid for the IMF's top job, and noted that those type of age restrictions “are not relevant today.”

The IMF issued a statement later confirming the candidacies of Mexico's central bank head Agustin Carstens and French finance minister Christine Lagarde only.