Janet Yellen says she expects Ajay Banga to be elected World Bank head
Treasury secretary also says US policy towards multilateral development banks’ energy finance is flexible and some low-income countries may qualify for financing for natural gas projects
30 March 2023 - 00:02
by David Lawder, Kanishka Singh and Andrea Shalal
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US treasury secretary Janet Yellen during a House appropriations subcommittee hearing in Washington, DC, the US, March 29 2023. Picture: VALERIE PLESCH/BLOOMBERG
Washington — US treasury secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday she expected the US nominee to head the World Bank, former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, to be elected as president of the multilateral development bank.
In testimony before a US House of Representatives subcommittee, Yellen said Banga would be charged with helping evolve the institution to better address new challenges.
“This evolution will help the bank deliver on its vital poverty alleviation and development goals,” Yellen told legislators on the state, foreign operations and related programmes subcommittee of the House appropriations committee, who control the treasury department’s purse strings.
She added, however, that the US has not asked for a World Bank capital increase. She said the World Bank can expand lending by stretching its existing resources and by pursuing innovative measures on its balance sheet.
“We are not requesting a capital increase at this time,” she said in the hearing.
Banga, 63, recently completed a three-week world tour to meet government leaders, civil society groups and others in borrowing and donor countries as he campaigned for the bank's top post.
President Joe Biden nominated the Indian-born finance and development executive, who is a US citizen, for the post in late February.
He has won the support of enough other governments to virtually assure his confirmation as World Bank president, including India, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
The World Bank will accept nominations from other countries until March 29, but no competitors have been announced. The World Bank has been led by an American since its founding at the end of World War 2, while the International Monetary Fund has been led by a European.
The bank’s board has said it hopes to elect a new leader by early May.
The bank’s current president, David Malpass, was nominated by former president Donald Trump. He announced his resignation in February after months of controversy over his initial failure to say he backed the scientific consensus on climate change.
Yellen on Wednesday also said US policy towards multilateral development banks’ energy finance is flexible and that some low-income countries may qualify for financing for natural gas projects if renewable energy is not feasible.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Janet Yellen says she expects Ajay Banga to be elected World Bank head
Treasury secretary also says US policy towards multilateral development banks’ energy finance is flexible and some low-income countries may qualify for financing for natural gas projects
Washington — US treasury secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday she expected the US nominee to head the World Bank, former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, to be elected as president of the multilateral development bank.
In testimony before a US House of Representatives subcommittee, Yellen said Banga would be charged with helping evolve the institution to better address new challenges.
“This evolution will help the bank deliver on its vital poverty alleviation and development goals,” Yellen told legislators on the state, foreign operations and related programmes subcommittee of the House appropriations committee, who control the treasury department’s purse strings.
She added, however, that the US has not asked for a World Bank capital increase. She said the World Bank can expand lending by stretching its existing resources and by pursuing innovative measures on its balance sheet.
“We are not requesting a capital increase at this time,” she said in the hearing.
Banga, 63, recently completed a three-week world tour to meet government leaders, civil society groups and others in borrowing and donor countries as he campaigned for the bank's top post.
President Joe Biden nominated the Indian-born finance and development executive, who is a US citizen, for the post in late February.
He has won the support of enough other governments to virtually assure his confirmation as World Bank president, including India, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
The World Bank will accept nominations from other countries until March 29, but no competitors have been announced. The World Bank has been led by an American since its founding at the end of World War 2, while the International Monetary Fund has been led by a European.
The bank’s board has said it hopes to elect a new leader by early May.
The bank’s current president, David Malpass, was nominated by former president Donald Trump. He announced his resignation in February after months of controversy over his initial failure to say he backed the scientific consensus on climate change.
Yellen on Wednesday also said US policy towards multilateral development banks’ energy finance is flexible and that some low-income countries may qualify for financing for natural gas projects if renewable energy is not feasible.
Reuters
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