Essay World Bank Group

Submitted By pucku
Words: 2128
Pages: 9
Open Document
An Overview of the World Bank Group
A.

Introduction

The World Bank was established in 1944 as a facilitator for post-war reconstruction and development. At that time, Europe had been devastated by war and needed long term investment for rebuilding its infrastructure. That is why it was named the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). Over the years, its mission has undergone a change with a shift in focus to removing poverty. Along with a change in its focus, the Bank has expanded to include other organizations, together called “The World Bank Group”.
The World Bank’s motto is to have a “world free from poverty”. Its mission today is to provide assistance to developing nations to alleviate poverty, to promote sustainable development and to help address global issues that cross national borders - such as climate change, infectious diseases and trade. It also assists countries affected by crises – both natural and economic.

At the time of its inception, the World Bank basically consisted of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the staff, consisting of engineers and financial analysts, was solely based in Washington DC. Today, The World Bank Group, consisting of five institutions, has a diverse staff that includes economists, public policy experts, social scientists and sector experts, more than a third of whom are based in country offices. The five institutions that are a part of the World Bank Group are:
 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ( IBRD)
 The International Development Agency(IDA)
 The International Finance Corporation(IFC)
 The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency(MIGA)
 The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

B.

World Bank Group Ownership and Membership

Each World Bank Group institution is owned by its member countries who are also its primary shareholders. Member countries subscribe to the share capital of each institution, the shareholding broadly reflecting their relative economic weight in the world economy. The USA is the largest shareholder in all the institutions, although the shareholding of developing countries has been rising in the last decade. In a recent share realignment, the shares of China, India, Brazil and a few other countries increased significantly.

The number of member countries varies by institution although the vast majority are members of all the institutions. IBRD has 185 members today. Member countries govern the
Bank group through their Boards of Governors and through a resident Board of Directors. These bodies make all the major policy decisions. The Governors represent member countries and are usually Ministers of Finance or Development. If a member of IBRD is also member of IDA or
IFC, the Governor also serves as the Governor of IDA and IFC. MIGA Governors are appointed separately to its Council of Governors.

Once a year, the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) meet in a joint session known as the Annual Meetings to discuss a range of issues relating to international economic development, finance and poverty reduction. As the
Governors meet only annually and as their numbers are too many for effective decision making, many specific duties are delegated to the Executive Directors of the resident Board. IBRD has twenty four Executive Directors, with the five largest shareholders – USA, Japan, Germany,
France and UK- appointing one director each. The rest of the countries are grouped into constituencies, each of which elects an Executive Director as its representative. The Executive
Directors are based in Washington DC, work under the delegated authority of the Governors and are responsible for making policy decisions affecting the World Bank Group's operations and for all loans. Although the relative voting power of the individual Executive Directors is based
Show More

Related Documents: Essay World Bank Group

Essay on Australia: World Trade Organization and World Bank Group

honoured to have been elected by the nations of the world to serve on the UNSC (United Nations Security Council) in 2013 and 20143. It is of great importance to the maintenance of international peace and security now than it has ever been. World Trade Organization: Australia has been a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since January 1st, 19954. World Economic Forum: In the late 1990’s the foundation, along with the G7, World Banks, WTO, and International Monetary Fund, came under heavy…

Words 680 - Pages 3

World Bank and Poverty Essay

the role World Bank in Poverty Reduction, as the primary role of the World Bank is to enable development and progress in the backward countries and regions of this world. This paper explains the brief history of the World Bank, and World Bank’s five institutions. It also investigates how the World Bank is continually trying to reduce poverty by lending billions of dollars to poor countries .This paper gives some of the facts of the under-developed countries and the strategies which World Bank has incorporated…

Words 3673 - Pages 15

Essay on Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Rbs

RBS, the first commercial mobile bank is available for service in November 1946. RBS has centers in thirteen European countries and sixteen North American states. The Royal Bank of Scotland has around 700 stores around the world. RBS includes Citizens Financial Group, Ulster Bank Group, Coutts, Direct Line, Churchill and around 40 other brands. Business mission * Provide world-class financing that means RBS want to provide services in all over the world. And that service is global.…

Words 463 - Pages 2

World Bank Essay

~THE WORLD BANK~ The World Bank was created in 1944. Its headquarters is located in Washington D.C. The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs. It’s designed to revive postwar international trade; it drew on the resources of member nations to make economic development loans to governments for such projects as new dams or agricultural modernization. Its main purpose is to reduce poverty. It has over 9,000 employees in…

Words 606 - Pages 3

Essay on Global poverty and Grameen bank

Grameen Bank has stepped in and made it possible for women to take microcredit loans. While microcredit has given much needed capital for women it might not be the case that it empowers women. Moreover, in some cases it leads to increased violence against women. Does the Grameen Bank empower or end up being predatory against women? Muhammad Yunus founded Grameen Bank in 1976 and claims that the organization is actively involved in changing and improving the world for women.2 Grameen Bank introduced…

Words 2199 - Pages 9

Marketing Management Individual Report Essay

reducing revenue volatility for the bank as it benefits from capturing global trends. HSBC relishes in Britain´s economic stability as it´s GDP has increased by 2.8% in 2014 and also thrives on the fact that Britain continues to be a significant influence and member of multinational banking organizations such as the Monetary Fund and World Bank. HSBC has additionally acquired a strong inflow of customer deposits from wholesale markets which has vastly improved the group´s liquidity position. Weaknesses…

Words 1276 - Pages 6

Reflection On An Organizational Change Of The World Bank

change of the World Bank, which is discussed by journalist Annie Lowry on New York Times’ October 7th, 2013 paper1. Specifically, this memo includes a summary on the World Bank’s situation, key organization design concepts related to World Bank’s organizational structure, and key organization design concepts related to World Bank’s potential organizational structure. With the following information, you can gain a better understanding of the application of organizational design. World Bank’s situation…

Words 642 - Pages 3

World Bank Essay example

WORLD BANK The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) is a specialised agency of the UN. It is a multilateral development lender. It was established with the Bretton Woods agreement of 1944 and its goal was to fight poverty. Economic growth was seen as a prerequisite for reducing poverty. Capital markets in the 1940s were small and risk averse so an institution such as this was seen as necessary. There are now 187 member countries. Its headquarters are in Washington…

Words 742 - Pages 3

World Bank History

The World Bank History of the World Bank The World Bank was established in 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, and is comprised of two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). It was created to help countries in need of post-war construction and development.1. It was the world's first multilateral development bank, and was funded through the sale of World Bonds. Its first loans were to France and other…

Words 2422 - Pages 10

Chad: Petroleum and Chad Cameroon Pipeline Essay examples

revenues appropriately. These objections deserve to be seriously considered. But in three years, they have been the subject of public analysis and debates in Chad and Cameroon and, in fact, in the whole world. One of the reasons for this is that the governments and the oil companies invited the World Bank…

Words 2068 - Pages 9