World Bank Group Leadership (2024)

FAQs

What is the leadership structure of the World Bank? ›

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 bank aims loans at developing countries to help reduce poverty.

Member countries govern the World Bank Group through the Boards of Governors and the Boards of Executive Directors. These bodies make all major decisions for the organizations. To become a member of the Bank, under the IBRD Articles of Agreement, a country must first join the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Ajay Banga, 14th President of the World Bank Group

Ajay Banga began his five-year term as World Bank Group President on June 2, 2023. Ajay Banga most recently served as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic.

The World Bank Group consists of five organizations – the IBRD, International Development Association (IDA), International Financial Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The United States was a leading force in the establishment of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) in 1944 and remains the largest shareholder of the World Bank Group today.

The term "World Bank" generally refers to just the IBRD and IDA, whereas the term "World Bank Group" or "WBG" is used to refer to all five institutions collectively.

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.

India takes the top spot. The world's most populous country owed $38.3bn to the WB at the end of 2022, down by almost $1.5bn from a year earlier. India's outstanding balance is almost double that of the next biggest debtor, Indonesia, with $20.6bn.

What are the criticism of the World Bank? ›

Criticisms of the World Bank

Conditionality: The World Bank has been criticized for attaching conditions to its loans and assistance, which are often referred to as "policy conditionality." Critics argue that these conditions can be onerous and may not reflect the needs and priorities of the recipient countries.

THE WORLD BANK MANDATE

World Bank assistance is generally long-term and is funded by member country contributions and by issuing bonds.

The USA has by far the largest voting weight, with 371,743 votes, 17.11 percent, in the IMF (and 16.41 in the World Bank, IBRD). This is followed by Japan with 6.14 percent (7.87), Germany 6.00 percent (4.49), France and UK with 4.95 percent (4.31) and so on.

A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a country with a gross national income per capita of US$14,005 or more in 2023, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with "First World" and "developed country," the technical definitions of these terms differ.

The typical organizational structure in a commercial bank is the following: a financial holding company (or bank holding company) at the top of the pyramid; below the holding company is the bank itself; finally, the bank may own subsidiary companies involved in credit card lending, commercial finance, and equipment ...

Together, IBRD and IDA form the World Bank, which provides financing, policy advice, and technical assistance to governments of developing countries. IDA focuses on the world's poorest countries, while IBRD assists middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries.

The institutions of the World Bank Group are all run by a board of governors meeting once a year. Each member country appoints a governor, generally its minister of finance. Daily, the World Bank Group is run by a board of 25 executive directors to whom the governors have delegated certain powers.

A company's organizational structure is the hierarchy of the business's teams, leaders, managers, and individual contributors. Organizational structures determine what employees do, whom they report to, and how decisions are made.