World Bank president to step down three years early

WASHINGTON — Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, announced Monday he is resigning at the end of January.

Kim’s unexpected departure three years before his term was set to expire is likely to set off a fierce battle between the Trump administration and other countries who have complained about the influence the United States exerts over the World Bank.

In a letter to bank staff, Kim said he has long believed that the key to bridging the gap between the massive financing needs of developing countries and the amount of support available was to work with the private sector.

“I have therefore decided that it’s time for me to take on new challenges and fully focus my efforts on leveraging private finance for the benefit of people around the world,” Kim said in his note to staff.

Kim’s departure will give President Donald Trump the opportunity to nominate his own choice to fill the World Bank post.

The 189-nation World Bank is the largest government source for development funding, providing lowcost loans for projects around the world.

Since the creation of the World Bank at the end of World War II, its leaders have all been Americans. Its sister lending agency, the International Monetary Fund, has always been headed by a European.

Other countries, including China and other Asian nations, have complained about this pattern. The IMF, which provides emergency loans to countries in economic crisis, is currently headed by former French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.

Kim, the former head of Dartmouth College, was first tapped by former President Barack Obama to lead the World Bank in 2012. He was nominated by Obama for a second term in August 2016.

In his resignation statement, Kim said that in addition to joining a firm that will focus on increasing infrastructure investments in developing countries, he will also rejoin Partners in Health, an organization he co-founded more than 30 years ago to provide medical support to poor nations.