David Malpass has been chosen as the president of the World Bank Group (WBG) on Friday after being unanimously elected by the executive board of the organization with no other candidates.
World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim has made the surprise announcement that he is stepping down after six years in the post. His resignation will take effect from 1 February. Mr Kim, 59, was not due to leave until 2022, after he was re-elected for a second five-year term in 2017.
The World Bank Group unveiled a new system on Thursday to rank countries based on their success in developing human capital, an effort to prod governments to invest more effectively in education and healthcare.
The World Bank forecasts global economic growth to edge up to 3.1% in 2018 after a much stronger-than-expected 2017, as the recovery in investment, manufacturing, and trade continues, and as commodity-exporting developing economies benefit from firming commodity prices.
The world is on a crash course as people's hopes collide with a future in which millions of jobs are automated, the World Bank chief has said. Jim Yong Kim said policymakers should take action by investing in education and health. The World Bank president spoke in New York ahead of the group's annual meeting in Washington DC this week.
The World Bank chief financial officer is giving up part of his bonus after an uproar over cost-cutting measures at the lender. Bertrand Badre will decline the remainder of his 94,000 dollar annual bonus, the bank said.
Global growth had been disappointing this year, according to World Bank president Dr Jim Yong Kim, who counted Europe's woes, reforms in Japan, and the impact of US monetary policy on emerging markets, among the world's greatest economic challenges.
With the latest death toll from the West Africa Ebola epidemic now at 887, the World Bank Group pledged on Monday as much as 200 million dollars in emergency funding to help Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone contain the spread of Ebola infections, help their communities cope with the economic impact of the crisis, and improve public health systems throughout West Africa.
The World Bank announced on Tuesday a series of measures to strengthen the bank resources including a 100 billion dollars increase in the lending capacity for middle-income countries over the next decade, new innovations in financial management, and a boost in the institution’s ability to provide private sector support.
The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has warned that a US default could tip the world into recession. In a US TV interview she said a default would result in massive disruption the world over.