World Bank New President: Basics Explained
The Executive Directors of the World Bank today selected Ajay Banga as President of the World Bank for a five-year term beginning June 2, 2023.
Ajay Banga most recently served as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic.
LEARNING FROM HOME/ WITHOUT CLASSES/ BASICS
WORLD BANK
Since inception in 1944, the World Bank has expanded from a single institution to a closely associated group of five development institutions. It evolved from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) as facilitator of post-war reconstruction and development to the present-day mandate of worldwide poverty alleviation in close coordination with its affiliate, the International Development Association (IDA), and other members of the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and theI nternational Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The World Bank Group is headquartered in Washington, D.C. W. Reconstruction remains an important part of WB work. However, at today’s World Bank, poverty reduction through an inclusive and sustainable globalization remains the overarching goal.
The World Bank Group five institutions are managed by their member countries.
The IBRD lends to governments of middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries.
The IDA provides interest-free loans—called credits— and grants to governments of the poorest countries.
The IFC , a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector.It help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments.
The MIGA was created in 1988 as a member of the World Bank Group to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries to support economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve people’s lives. MIGA fulfills this mandate by offering political risk insurance (guarantees) to investors and lenders.The ICSID provides international facilities for conciliation and arbitration of investment disputes.
The International Monetary Fund(IMF), was conceived at a UN conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, in July 1944. The 44 countries at that conference sought to build a framework for economic cooperation to avoid a repetition of the competitive devaluations that had contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The IMF’s responsibilities: The IMF’s primary purpose is to ensure the stability of the international monetary system—the system of exchange rates and international payments that enables countries (and their citizens) to transact with each other. The Fund’s mandate was updated in 2012 to include all macroeconomic and financial sector issues that bear on global stability.
Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
CEO: Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, from Bulgaria
The IMF works hand-in-hand with the World Bank. Both are also known as Bretton Woods twins. and although they are two separate entities, their interests are aligned, and they were created together. While the IMF provides only shorter-term loans that are funded by member quotas, the World Bank focuses on long-term economic solutions and the reduction of poverty and is funded by both member contributions and bonds. The IMF is more focused on economic policy solutions, while the World Bank offers assistance in such programs as building necessary public facilities and preventing disease.
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