The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an international financial institution, established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States; it is the lending arm of World Bank Group. The IBRD offers loans to middle-income developing countries. It is the first of five member institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The initial mission of the IBRD in 1944, was to finance the reconstruction of European nations devastated by World War II. The IBRD and its concessional lending arm, the International Development Association (IDA), are collectively known as the World Bank as they share the same leadership and staff.
The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group. The bank is headquartered in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It provided around $98.83 billion in loans and assistance to "developing" and transition countries in the 2021 fiscal year. The bank's stated mission is to achieve the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and building shared prosperity. Total lending as of 2015 for the last 10 years through Development Policy Financing was approximately $117 billion. Its five organizations are:
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States.
The International Development Association (IDA) is a development finance institution which offers concessional loans and grants to the world's poorest developing countries. The IDA is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It was established in 1960 to complement the existing International Bank for Reconstruction and Development by lending to developing countries which suffer from the lowest gross national income, from troubled creditworthiness, or from the lowest per capita income. Together, the International Development Association and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development are collectively generally known as the World Bank, as they follow the same executive leadership and operate with the same staff.
The World Bank Director-General Evaluation (DGE) oversees the work of three units of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG): IEG-World Bank evaluates IBRD and IDA support to countries' overall development; IEG-IFC evaluates Bank Group activities that focus on contributions to private sector development and on strengthening the business climate; and IEG-MIGA evaluates the impact of Bank Group political risk guarantees and technical assistance aimed at improving foreign direct investment to developing countries. These three units, under the overall guidance of the Director-General, disseminate their findings with the aim of enhancing the Bank Group's development effectiveness. The Director-General also works closely with development partners to foster international evaluation harmonization, strengthen evaluation capacity in developing countries, and encourage evaluations of the international development system.
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is an international financial institution which offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement guarantees. These guarantees help investors protect foreign direct investments against political and non-commercial risks in developing countries. MIGA is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States.
The Inspection Panel is an independent accountability mechanism of the World Bank. It was established in September 1993 by the World Bank Board of Directors, and started operations on August 1, 1994. The Panel provides a forum for people who believe that they may be adversely affected by Bank-financed operations to bring their concerns to the highest decision-making levels of the World Bank. The Panel determines whether the Bank is complying with its own policies and procedures, which are designed to ensure that Bank-financed operations provide social and environmental benefits and avoid harm to people and the environment. The Inspection Panel was the first body to promote accountability among international financial institutions through this community-led, or “bottom-up”, approach which is complementary to the “top-down” forms of accountability, such as evaluation initiated by the World Bank itself. Building on this example, other multilateral and regional financial institutions have established similar accountability mechanisms as part of broader efforts at sustainable and equitable development.
The Office of the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) is a recourse mechanism for projects supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) of the World Bank Group. It was established in 1999 and is based in Washington, D.C. Its formation was a concession to the anti-globalization movement to ensure accountability for World Bank-financed projects. The Mission of the CAO is to address complains of people affected by IFC and MIGA projects, and to improve the accountability of both institutions
China originally joined the World Bank Group (WBG) on December 27, 1945. However, after the Chinese Civil War, the World Bank recognized the Republic of China as its member, until the relationship ended in 1980, when the membership was replaced by the People's Republic of China. The People's Republic of China (PRC) did not become involved with the World Bank group until 1980, when it first joined the World Bank in April due to the market reforms known as reform and opening-up. Prior to the economic reform and its relation with the World Bank, according to CRS, "China maintained policies that kept the economy very poor, stagnant, centrally controlled, vastly inefficient, and relatively isolated from the global economy". Since its entry into the World Bank, China has transformed into a market-based economy and has experienced rapid economic and social development. Currently, although China has become the world's second largest economy with 1.4 billion population, it still has a close relationship with the World Bank in areas such as poverty, environmental protection and new challenges from the reform.
The World Bank Group is a family of five international organizations that has provided leveraged loans and monetary assistance to the Central American country of Honduras in order to assist with the funding of critical tasks needed to ensure security of Honduran access to financing, expansion of social program coverage, and rural development. The country is the second poorest in Central America and its high poverty rate of 66% in 2016 has prompted an increased focus on the importance of diversification of rural income sources, quality education, and targeted social programs as a way of spurring economic growth.
Sri Lanka has been involved with the World Bank since its initial entrance into the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) on August 29, 1950. Currently, Sri Lanka's quota in the IBERT is approximately 515.4 million dollars, thus allotting 5,846 votes or 0.25% of the total votes in the institution. Sri Lanka later became a member of the other institutions in the world bank such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on July 20, 1956, with a current quota of 7.491 million dollars, allotting 8,311 votes or 0.32% of the total votes; the International Development Association (IDA) on June 27, 1961, with a current share of 98,100 votes or 0.36% within the institution; the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on November 11, 1967; and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) on May 27, 1988, with a current quota of 4.78 million SDR. Sri Lanka is currently in the India-led constituency for these organizations, representing the country as part of the South Asian block.
The World Bank Group country partnership framework aims to support Haiti's efforts to reduce poverty and provide economic opportunities for all Haitians. The framework aims to strengthen institutions, government capacity, and public financial management as aid and concessional financing rapidly decline.
Vietnam joined the World Bank Group (WBG) on 21 September 1956. Before the mid-1980s, Vietnam was one of the world's least developed countries. A series of economic and political reforms launched in 1986, known as Đổi Mới, caused Vietnam to experience rapid economic growth and development, becoming a lower middle-income country. The World Bank (WB) has maintained a development partnership with Vietnam since 1993. As of 25 March 2019, it has committed a total of US$24 billion in loans, credits, and grants to Vietnam through 165 operations and projects, 44 of which are active as of 2019 and comprise US$9 billion. With an estimated extreme poverty rate below 3% and a GDP growth rate of 7.1% in 2018, Vietnam's economy continues to show fundamental strength and is supported by robust domestic demand and export-oriented manufacturing.
The relationship between Ethiopia and the World Bank was formalized on December 27, 1945.
Croatia joined the World Bank in 1993, two years after declaring independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991. The World Bank's projects from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s primarily focused on infrastructural and environmental projects.
Uganda joined the World Bank on September 27, 1963, along with the IBRD, IDA and IFC. It later joined the ICSID on October 14, 1966, and the MIGA on June 10, 1992. Uganda also holds the chair for the 22 nation Africa Group 1 Constituency, headed by Anne Kabagambe. Uganda holds 0.07% of the vote in the IBRD while its constituency holds 1.92%. In the IFC, Uganda holds 0.05% of the vote while its constituency holds 1.31%. Uganda in the IDA holds 0.18% of the vote, while the Africa Group 1 Constituency commands 4%. In the MIGA, meanwhile, Uganda has 0.21% while its constituency holds 3.54% of the vote.
Jamaica first joined The World Bank Group (WBG) on 21 February 1963, when the island nation became a member of The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which lends to middle and low income nations. This occurred the same month as Jamaica joining the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and one year after declaring political independence. Since joining The World Bank, Jamaica has received in excess of $3 billion US Dollars in loans and grants. Jamaican Minister of Finance, Donald Sangster, led the Jamaican delegations to World Bank and International monetary Fund meetings between 1963 and 1966, while also serving as Governor of the World Bank and IMF. Sangster would go on to serve briefly as the Prime Minister of Jamaica.
Mali joined the World Bank Group in 1963 after they gained their independence from France in 1960. They are a low-income country with 41.3% of their population living under the poverty line in 2019. Additionally, Mali is a landlocked country whose economy is vulnerable to changes in climate. Thus, Mali has relationships with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporations (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). In 2019, the IBRD and IDA committed to lending 500 million US dollars to projects in Mali, a large jump from 2018, where only US$178 million was lent. The bank group is currently involved in 30 projects in the region.These projects focused on areas such as mining, cotton, climate change, good governance, and health. Since 2013, the World Bank Group has worked alongside their UN mission counterpart, MINUSMA to create stability and growth in the region. The current World Bank Country Director for Mali is Soukeyna Kane.
Jennifer "DJ" Nordquist is an American public policy expert who served as the U.S. Executive Director of the World Bank, representing the U.S. as the largest shareholder at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
