Ajay Banga confirmed as new World Bank president

WASHINGTON

The World Bank has confirmed that Ajay Banga will be its next president, handing him the reins at a pivotal time as it looks to reshape its role to better address climate change.   

Banga, the U.S. candidate who was the sole nominee for the top job, will begin his new role on June 2, taking over from David Malpass who is stepping down early amid criticism over his stance on climate change.           

Under an unwritten arrangement, a U.S. citizen has historically held the presidency of the Washington-based development lender, while the International Monetary Fund has been run by a European.    

Despite growing public unease over America’s continued grip on the bank’s presidency from developing and emerging economies, the trend continues with Banga, 63, who was born into a Sikh family in India and is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Banga previously ran the payments company Mastercard for more than a decade between 2010 and 2021.     

He told reporters that during his candidacy, he wanted to see greater private sector funding to help tackle financing for global problems.           

Banga will take control of the bank shortly after member countries endorsed measures to allow it a $50 billion lending boost over the next decade - a key objective of outgoing president Malpass.    

The move is part of an ongoing evolution of the development lender amid pushes for it to meet global challenges like climate change.    

The bank estimates that developing countries will need $2.4 trillion every year for the next seven years just to address the costs of climate change, conflict and the pandemic.