The World Bank, under the leadership of Ajay Banga, is shifting its focus towards addressing global challenges such as climate change. This strategic shift comes with the backing of India’s G20 presidency and advocates for reform in multilateral development banks (MDBs). The bank’s new direction is expected to be endorsed at the annual meeting in Marrakech.
Banga, the inaugural private sector head of the World Bank, is promoting operational reforms under India’s presidency. This initiative follows the G20’s approval for a revamp of MDBs, guided by recommendations from an expert group led by Summers and Singh. These recommendations were presented to India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The World Bank plans to enhance its lending capacity through innovative means which include a portfolio guarantee platform and private capital mobilisation. A significant part of this plan involves a $50 billion increase in lending capacity and an additional $106 billion mobilization under the ‘One World Bank’ approach.
Two reports, titled ‘Bigger, Better, Bolder’ and ‘World Bank Evolution’, outline key recommendations for this new vision. These reports suggest poverty eradication, compensation structure reform, and agency collaboration as some of the primary objectives. They also advocate for a comprehensive review of compensation and the introduction of a new scorecard system.
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