Bank helps nations tackle poverty fight
THE World Bank was set up in 1944 when the Allies were making plans to support Europe’s post-war recovery.
Part of the United Nations, it was co-founded by pioneering English economist John Maynard Keynes and US Treasury official Harry Dexter White.
It is not a bank in the traditional sense. Rather, it is a development organisation whose goal is to fight poverty.
It gives low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries to help with building schools, setting up health programmes, transportation and agricultural investment, as well as providing policy advice. It is based in
Washington DC, has offices in over 100 countries and is funded by wealthy member states.
The World Bank is the collective name for two divisions – the International Development Association and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The bank was created at the famous July 1944 Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire, where its sister organisation the International Monetary Fund was also established. The fund – whose deputy managing director Gita Gopinath has been speaking this week – focuses more on stability and monitoring the global economy.