WASHINGTON, DC - THE Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank has confirmed United States’ nominee, Ajay Banga as its 14th President to serve for the next five years beginning next month, the Bank said after a series of interviews and screening.
The selection was confirmed today (May 3) by the international lending agency, after a lengthy interview on Monday, which noted that they followed the selection process agreed to by shareholders back in 2011, which includes “an open, merit-based, and transparent nomination where any national of the Bank’s membership could be proposed by any Executive Director or Governor through an Executive Director”.
That was followed by a thorough due diligence and a “comprehensive” interview before Banga’s selection.
The Indian-born American served in numerous capacities, from being the President and Chief Executive Officer of MasterCard to serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup Asia Pacific.
He replaces outgoing Chief David Malpass, who was nominated under former US President Donald Trump.
Malpass came in for heavy criticisms after making a public position against Climate Change, which caused him to step down from his role, after announcing in February that he would do so in June.
Congratulatory messages have already started to pour in, with the United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reminding Banga that he has come to the institution at a critical time, with the world fighting to combat Climate Change, pandemics and fragility to eliminating extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity
“Right now, we are undertaking a vital effort to evolve the World Bank and other multilateral development banks to redouble their work on global challenges like Climate Change in a way that accelerates progress on national development priorities. Six months after my call to action during the Annual Meetings, we made an important down payment on that effort last month,” the Treasury Secretary said.
She noted that the “reforms adopted will sharpen the Bank’s mission, align its operations with our new goals, and help unlock as much as $50 billion in lending capacity over the coming decade to combat extreme poverty, boost economic growth, and build resilience to global challenges”.
“Our ambitious goals will not be met overnight, and we remain committed to a staged adoption of reforms over the course of the year to build on the vision we have laid out. Ajay Banga will play a critical role in that work, including its development and implementation in the coming years,” Yellen added.
US President Joe Biden has already congratulated Banga on his ascension to the position.
