World Bank

Industry:	Banking
Employees:	10,000

Description

The World Bank Group is a group of five international organizations responsible for providing finance to countries for purposes of development and poverty reduction, and for encouraging and safeguarding international investment. The group and its affiliates are headquartered in Washington, D.C. Together with the separate International Monetary Fund, the World Bank organizations are sometimes called the Bretton Woods institutions, after Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, where the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference that led to their establishment took place (1 July - 22 July 1944). The Bank came into formal existence on 27 December 1945 following international ratification of the Bretton Woods agreements. Commencing operations on 25 June 1946, it approved its first loan on 9 May 1947 ($250m to France for postwar reconstruction, in real terms the largest loan issued by the Bank to date). The International Finance Corporation (IFC) was created on 20 July 1956, the IDA on 24 September 1960, the ICSID on 14 October 1966 and the MIGA on 12 April 1988. Though repeatedly relied upon by impoverished governments around the world as a contributor of development finance, the Bank and its affiliates have been criticised for undermining the national sovereignty of recipient countries through its pursuit of economic liberalisation and guarantees for private international investment. The World Bank's activities are currently focused on less economically developed countries in fields such as education, agriculture and industry. It provides loans at preferential rates to member countries who are in difficulty. In counterpart, it also asks that political measures be taken to, for example, limit corruption or foster democracy. The work of the Bank is subject to long-standing and strong criticism from a range of non-governmental organizations and academics, and in some cases from the Bank's own internal evaluations. It has been accused of being a US or western tool for imposing economic policies that support western interests. Critics argue that the free market reform policies - which the Bank advocates - in practice are often harmful to economic development if implemented badly, too quickly, in the wrong sequence, or in very weak, uncompetitive economies. Nevertheless the World Bank is one of the most highly-regarded financial institutions in the world, especially in the field of developmental economics.

Products & Services

low-interest loans, technical assistance, countries, policy advice, interest-free credit, knowledge sharing services, projects, financial

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News Archive

Launch of World Bank - Singapore Urban Hub; Mr. Kamran M. Khan to Head the World Bank's Singapore Office and Urban Hub. M2 Presswire; 6/25/2009 M2 PRESSWIRE-25 June 2009-WORLD BANK GROUP: Launch of World Bank - Singapore Urban Hub; Mr. Kamran M. Khan to Head the World Bank's Singapore Office and Urban Hub(C)1994... ...more

Launch of World Bank - Singapore Urban Hub. JCN Newswires; 6/24/2009 ...24, 2009 - (ACN Newswire) - The World Bank - Singapore Urban Hub was launched...officiated by Mr. James Adams, World Bank Vice President for East Asia and...around urban solutions between the World Bank and Singapore by World Bank President... ...more

Roundup: World Bank pledges to strengthen developing countries' voice Xinhua News Agency; 10/5/2009 Roundup: World Bank pledges to strengthen developing countries' voice Roundup: World Bank pledges to strengthen developing countries...developing countries a bigger voice in the World Bank by increasing their voting power by at... ...more