Who is the current head of the World Bank?
About Ajay Banga
The organizations that make up the World Bank Group are owned by the governments of member nations, which have the ultimate decision-making power within the organizations on all matters, including policy, financial or membership issues.
Felice Gorordo is the World Bank Group Alternate Executive Director for the United States since September 2023.
Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Financial Officer. Anshula Kant was appointed Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Financial Officer on October 7, 2019. She is responsible for financial and risk management of the World Bank Group, reporting to the President.
The United States is the largest single shareholder, followed by Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France. The rest of the shares are divided among the other member countries. A Board of Governors represents the Bank's government shareholders.
United States At-A-Glance
As the only World Bank shareholder that retains veto power over changes in the Bank's structure, the United States plays a unique role in influencing and shaping development priorities.
As of 2022, the World Bank is run by a president and 25 executive directors, as well as 29 various vice presidents. IBRD and IDA have 189 and 174 member countries, respectively. The U.S., Japan, China, Germany and the U.K. have the most voting power.
The estimated total pay range for a President at The World Bank is $190K–$354K per year, which includes base salary and additional pay. The average President base salary at The World Bank is $200K per year.
India takes the top spot. Its $39.7bn debt towards the WB recorded at the end of 2021 is double that of the next biggest debtor, Indonesia, with $19.6bn. Pakistan and Bangladesh follow with $18.3bn and $17.8bn, respectively, according to WB figures.
Where is World Bank located?
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the bank is the largest source of financial assistance to developing countries.
As the only World Bank Group shareholder that retains veto power over certain changes in the Bank's structure, the U.S. plays a unique role in influencing and shaping global development priorities. Through the WBG, the U.S. participates in addressing international development challenges.
Lack of Transparency and Accountability: The World Bank has also been criticized for its lack of transparency and accountability. Critics argue that the Bank has not been transparent in its decision-making processes, and that it has not adequately engaged with civil society and other stakeholders in its operations.
The main difference between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank lies in their respective purposes and functions. The IMF oversees the stability of the world's monetary system, while the World Bank's goal is to reduce poverty by offering assistance to middle-income and low-income countries.
Ajaypal Singh "Ajay" Banga (born November 10, 1959) is an Indian-born American business executive. He is currently the president of the World Bank Group.
The Russian Federation joined the World Bank after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which led to the formation of a new state and economy as a constitutional republic. The federation joined the World Bank on June 16, 1992.
As of 2023, the bank's 6 largest [PDF] shareholders—out of its 189 members—are the United States, Japan, China, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Ultimate policymaking authority at the bank rests with the board of governors, mostly made up of senior finance or development officials from member countries.
The comparative advantage of the World Bank comes from its powerful combination of country depth and global breadth, public and private sector instruments and relations, multisector knowledge, and the ability to mobilize and leverage financing.
The United States has the largest financial commitment to the IBRD, accounting for 16.69% of total IBRD resources. U.S. paid-in capital is $3.5 billion and U.S. callable capital is $47.8 billion.
China began its partnership with the Bank in 1980, just as it embarked on its reforms.
What entity is the World Bank?
The World Bank is like a cooperative, made up of 189 member countries. These member countries, or shareholders, are represented by a Board of Governors, who are the ultimate policymakers at the World Bank. Generally, the governors are member countries' ministers of finance or ministers of development.
So formally speaking, the board of the World Bank will consider nominees from all the candidates that are put forward by their respective governments and constituencies. But in practice, the World Bank president has always been the nominee selected by the U.S. administration.
The President of the World Bank Group serves as Chairman of the Board, and is selected by the Executive Directors. The President is the presiding officer, and ordinarily has no vote except a deciding vote in case of an equally divided Board.
Accused of being secretive, unaccountable, and ineffective, both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are seeking to become more transparent, more participatory, and more accountable. Yet few attempts have been made to dissect the existing structure of accountability within the organizations.
Members of these organisations enjoy privileges and immunities on the basis of the Vienna Convention. Employees of the United Nations (UN), World Bank (WBG) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are also not taxed on their salaries and are not required to pay taxes in the host country where they work.
