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☆ Biden nominates former MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga to head World Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday nominated former MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga to become president of the World Bank, hailing his business experience in his native India and his commitment to mobilizing private funds to expand financial inclusion and help developing countries grapple with climate change. "Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history," Biden said in a statement. "Raised in India, Ajay has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity." Biden singled Banga's decades of experience building global companies and building public-private partnerships to tackle urgent challenges such as climate change, and said he had a proven track record working with global leaders. "He can really be a force for change," Moreno said, noting that Banga enjoyed the trust of financial markets whose support was urgently needed to help raise the trillions of dollars needed to deal with global challenges.

☆ World Bank pick Ajay Banga comes with green finance cred
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday nominated Ajay Banga to be the World Bank’s next president, replacing David Malpass, who announced last week he would step down a year ahead of schedule. It’s a strong signal that the United States wants to help developing countries switch to greener forms of energy. Both Banga and Malpass spent time at big banks, but that’s where the similarities end. As the World Bank’s biggest donor, the United States has traditionally installed government careerists who used the post to promote Cold War-era priorities. By choosing a banker who cares about the planet, Washington is signalling that green finance is a political priority.

☆ U.S. World Bank pick comes with green finance cred
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

☆ As G20 finance chiefs gather, Yellen calls for more economic aid to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Continued, robust support for Ukraine will be a major topic of discussion during my time here in India." Yellen said that previous U.S. military, economic and humanitarian aid totalling $46 billion has allowed Ukraine to preserve economic and financial stability under "extraordinary circumstances." In the coming months, we expect to provide around $10 billion in additional economic support for Ukraine." Yellen said that G20 countries, especially China, need to work to ease the debt overhang that is putting more than half of low-income countries in debt distress. The United States intends to put forward a candidate for the World Bank presidency "very quickly", she added.

☆ Biden nominates former MasterCard exec Ajay Banga to lead World Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —President Joe Biden has announced that he’s nominating Ajay Banga, a former MasterCard executive, to serve as president of the World Bank. Notably, the White House highlighted Banga’s “extensive experience” in creating partnerships to address climate change and financial inclusion,” something Biden pledged would be an important qualification for the next World Bank President. “We’ve achieved many of the things I wanted to…I think it’s really important that institutions have energy, new energy, and this is a good time for the World Bank to do that,” he said. The World Bank, a group of 187 nations, lends money to developing countries to help reduce poverty. Former US President Donald Trump appointed Malpass as World Bank chief in 2019 for a five-year period.

☆ German minister: Next World Bank boss should be a woman
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The next World Bank president should be a woman, Germany's international development minister told Reuters in remarks that could strengthen the potential candidacy of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the American-Nigerian head of the World Trade Organization. "As Germany's World Bank governor I say: 'It is time for a woman at the head of the World Bank'," she said on Tuesday. "The World Bank must be a pioneer in fighting poverty and global crises like climate change, biodiversity loss and pandemics." By convention, the World Bank president is a U.S. citizen. Okonjo-Iweala, who holds dual U.S.-Nigerian citizenship, earlier worked at the World Bank.

REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File PhotoWASHINGTON/LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - U.S.-based investment firm BlackRock said on Friday it would join a new sovereign debt roundtable set up to accelerate progress on stalled relief efforts for distressed countries, with Britain's Standard Chartered also joining, according to sources. "We welcome the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable and look forward to engaging constructively in the dialogue alongside other key stakeholders," a spokesperson for BlackRock (BLK.N) told Reuters. Unlike the G20's Common Framework platform for bilateral debt restructuring, the roundtable talks include public and private creditors as well as borrowing countries. Some 52% of private-sector-held sovereign debt is under contract in New York state. "Private creditors are major players in many debt restructurings and need to share the responsibility for achieving a successful restructuring," Malpass added.

☆ Exclusive: World Bank may loosen loan ratio to free up $4 billion a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The World Bank, under pressure to do more to help developing countries cope with climate change, may change its internal lending guidelines to free up $4 billion in lending capacity each year, World Bank President David Malpass told Reuters on Thursday. Lowering the equity-to-lending ratio would free up more resources at a time of mounting global challenges such as the Ukraine war, he said. The board was expected to decide on the issue by the April meetings of the bank and the International Monetary Fund. Malpass announced his resignation from the bank on Wednesday amid mounting pressure from the U.S. Treasury to move faster on reforming the bank. The World Bank had long argued against changing its capital adequacy rules, worried that doing so would undermine its AAA credit ratings, but two of the three main agencies last year said some changes were possible without tarnishing the ratings.

☆ Exclusive: World Bank's Malpass on surprise exit: Four years is a long time
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - World Bank President David Malpass on Thursday told Reuters he decided to leave before his five-year contract ended because he felt work was well underway on reforms aimed at expanding the bank's lending. Malpass, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump, said the end of the bank's fiscal year was a good time for a transition. Malpass will leave the bank by the end of June. Asked about suggestions he had been urged to leave, Malpass said he was leaving on his own terms and it made sense for him at this time. Malpass would not comment on whether it was time to end a longstanding tradition of having the bank's leader come from the United States.

☆ World Bank President David Malpass to Step Down Early
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Yuka Hayashi | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—World Bank President David Malpass will step down on June 30, the bank said Wednesday, paving the way for a leadership transition as nations prepare to expand the role for the multilateral lender to better respond to climate change and other global challenges. Mr. Malpass had been appointed to a five-year term that was set to expire in 2024. He said in a statement that the current strength of the bank’s financial and operational position provides for an opportunity for a leadership transition, without providing other reasons for his departure. The bank didn’t discuss plans for a successor.

[1/5] David Malpass, president of the World Bank Group, arrives for a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (not in picture) at Kishida's official residence in Tokyo, Japan September 13, 2022. REUTERS/Issei Kato/PoolWASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - David Malpass, president of the World Bank, unexpectedly said he would resign in June on Wednesday, leaving open a job that oversees billions of dollars of funding and has a direct impact on poverty, climate change preparation, emergency aid and other issues in developing countries around the globe. RAJIV SHAShah is the former USAID administrator under Obama and currently president of the Rockefeller Foundation, a philanthropic group that says it aims to "promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world." The foundation recently partnered with the U.S. State Department on a carbon offset program at COP27, the international climate conference. MINOUCHE SHAFIKShafik is an Egypt-born, British American economist who is currently president of the London School of Economics and has served as deputy governor of the Bank of England and deputy managing director of the IMF.

☆ World Bank President David Malpass to step down early
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Kate Trafecante | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —World Bank President David Malpass plans to step down a year before his term is set to end, the organization announced Wednesday. Former US President Donald Trump appointed Malpass as World Bank chief in 2019 for a five-year period. During Malpass’ tenure, the organization responded to multiple crises, including a global pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine. The World Bank said Malpass implemented record surges in finances in response to both. Yellen also noted his commitment to “ensuring a smooth transition” and said the United States is looking forward to a “transparent, merit-based and swift nomination” for the next World Bank president.

China and other G20 countries were aware that India was working on a proposal, the officials said. "China takes the debt issue of developing countries seriously and supports relevant financial institutions to put forward solutions," he said. The People’s Bank of China and the Finance Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. New Delhi expects the United States to be one of the main backers of its proposal, said one of the sources. India and the Paris Club of creditors recently told the IMF they supported Sri Lanka's debt restructuring plan as the bankrupt nation sought a $2.9 billion loan.

☆ Malpass to leave World Bank at the end of June
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - World Bank President David Malpass will step down at the end of June after more than four years leading the multilateral development bank "to pursue new challenges," Malpass and the bank said on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear why Malpass, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, would depart with less than a year before the end of a five-year term. "Having made much progress, and after a good deal of thought, I’ve decided to pursue new challenges," Malpass said in a statement. Malpass took up the World Bank helm in April 2019 after serving as the top official for international affairs at U.S. Treasury in the Trump administration. More recently, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has launched a major push to reform the way the World Bank operates to ensure broader lending to combat climate change and other global challenges.

☆ NATO's Stoltenberg will not seek another extension of his term, spokesperson says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 12 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will end his term as planned in October, a spokesperson for the alliance said, after a newspaper reported a further extension was in the works. "The mandate of Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has been extended three times, and he has served for a total of almost nine years," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said late on Saturday. "The Secretary-General's term comes to an end in October of this year and he has no intention to seek another extension of his mandate." Stoltenberg, an economist by training and a former leader of Norway's Labour Party, had his NATO term extended last year. Welt said alliance members wanted to give Stoltenberg the opportunity to chair the organisation's 75th anniversary summit in Washington in April 2024.

☆ NATO to extend Stoltenberg's term to April 2024, Welt am Sonntag reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 12 (Reuters) - NATO will extend again the term of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Welt am Sonntag reported on Sunday, citing unidentified diplomatic sources, as the alliance seeks to maintain stability during the war in Ukraine. Members will extend Stoltenberg's term until April 2024 due to his "outstanding achievements" and to guarantee the military alliance's stability during the ongoing war in Ukraine, the newspaper said. Stoltenberg, an economist by training and a former leader of Norway's Labour Party, had his original NATO term extended last year. He was prime minister of Norway from 2000-01 and 2005-13 before becoming NATO chief the following year. Welt said alliance members want to give Stoltenberg the opportunity to chair the organisation's 75th anniversary summit in Washington in April 2024.

☆ Visits to Zambia by Yellen, IMF reflect concern over stalled debt talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Frustrated by the delays, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva arrived for separate visits in Zambia on Sunday. Both see a new sovereign debt roundtable - introduced late last year - as a way to make progress on long-stalled debt restructuring processes. Yellen told Reuters en route to Zambia she supported the roundtable as a forum for discussing general principles of debt relief. Yellen, however, noted rates were nowhere near those seen under Volcker and inflation was not out of control. "We're in a higher interest rate environment, and that's something that's linked to the strong dollar, and weaker currencies for many emerging markets, but also Japan and other countries," Yellen said.

☆ Rate rises could add $8.6 trillion to global borrowing costs -S&P
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Naomi Rovnick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Central bank rate rises could land global borrowers with $8.6 trillion in extra debt servicing costs in coming years, S&P Global estimated on Friday, warning of a slowdown in economic activity as a result. "Higher interest expenses are already straining less-creditworthy governments and corporates, and lower-income households," S&P Global, a financial intelligence company that includes a debt ratings service, said in a report. Businesses' required returns on new projects were rising along with debt costs, S&P Global added, in a trend that would "dampen future business activity volumes". S&P Global based its estimate of an $8.6 trillion extra interest bill by applying a three percentage point rate increase to $300 trillion worth of global debt. Around 65% of the extra debt service cost would be paid on fixed-rate bonds and loans as they were refinanced "over time," the report said.

☆ Premaket stocks: Auto sales are falling — but profits are surging. Welcome to the new normal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —The US auto industry just posted its worst sales in more than a decade — but that’s not necessarily a bad sign for the sector. What’s happening: 2022 was the worst year in more than a decade for the auto industry, largely because manufacturers couldn’t keep up with consumer demand. To put that into historical perspective, auto sales topped 17 million each year between 2015 and 2019, before Covid. But the auto industry saw sky-high profits even as sales plummeted. The auto industry has entered a new era: Less choice, higher prices and larger profit margins.

☆ World Bank warns global economy could tip into recession in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Andrew KellyWASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The World Bank slashed its 2023 growth forecasts on Tuesday to levels teetering on the brink of recession for many countries as the impact of central bank rate hikes intensifies, Russia's war in Ukraine continues, and the world's major economic engines sputter. The development lender said it expected global GDP growth of 1.7% in 2023, the slowest pace outside the 2009 and 2020 recessions since 1993. In its previous Global Economic Prospects report in June 2022, the bank had forecast 2023 global growth at 3.0%. It forecast global growth in 2024 to pick up to 2.7% -- below the 2.9% estimate for 2022 -- and said average growth for the 2020-2024 period would be under 2% -- the slowest five-year pace since 1960. China's growth in 2022 slumped to 2.7%, its second slowest pace since the mid-1970s after 2020, as zero-COVID restrictions, property market turmoil and drought hit consumption, production and investment, the World Bank report said.

☆ World Bank warns global economy could easily tip into recession in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The World Bank slashed its 2023 growth forecasts on Tuesday to levels teetering on the brink of recession for many countries as the impact of central bank rate hikes intensifies, Russia's war in Ukraine continues, and the world's major economic engines sputter. The development lender said it now expected global GDP growth of 1.7% in 2023 -- the slowest pace outside the 2009 and 2020 recessions in nearly three decades. In its previous Global Economic Prospects report, in June 2022, the bank had forecast 2023 global growth at 3.0%The bank said major slowdowns in advanced economies, including sharp cuts to its forecast to 0.5% for both the United States and the euro zone, could foreshadow a new global recession less than three years after the last one. China's growth in 2022 slumped to 2.7%, its second slowest pace since the mid-1970s after 2020, as zero-COVID restrictions, property market turmoil and drought hit consumption, production and investment, the World Bank report said. The World Bank noted that some inflationary pressures started to abate as 2022 drew to a close, with lower energy and commodity prices, but warned that risks of new supply disruptions were high, and elevated core inflation may persist.

☆ World Bank: Global economy could see second recession of the decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The global economy is just one more knock away from a second recession in the same decade, something that hasn’t happened in more than 80 years. That’s the latest warning from the World Bank, which on Tuesday sharply lowered its forecast for global economic growth. “The crisis facing development is intensifying as the global growth outlook deteriorates,” World Bank President David Malpass said in a statement. As a result, “further negative shocks” — from higher inflation and even tighter monetary policy to an uptick in geopolitical tensions — could be enough to trigger recessionary conditions, according to the World Bank. The global economy shrank by 3.2% during the pandemic recession of 2020, before bouncing back strongly in 2021.

☆ Why the World bank slashed its global growth outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhy the World bank slashed its global growth outlookDavid Malpass, World Bank president, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss the reasons behind the Bank slashing its global growth outlook.

☆ China agreed to form global sovereign debt 'roundtable' -IMF chief
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Chinese officials have agreed to form a global sovereign debt "roundtable" that would include a wide variety of stakeholders, including private sector creditors, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday. China has argued that private creditors and multilateral development banks should be required to accept debt "haircuts" to make the process fair. "We agreed that we should form a global sovereign debt roundtable at the highest level - the key creditors, some of the borrowers, the private sector - with the World Bank, the IMF and the G20 presidency being the co-conveners," she said. The proposed roundtable offered a structure to help improve the debt treatment process and avoid a systemic debt crisis, she said. Georgieva, World Bank President David Malpass and other financial leaders met in China's Anhui province last week with officials from the People's Bank of China, China's finance ministry and its EXIM Bank and China Development Bank.

☆ IMF chief Georgieva cites 'fruitful exchange' with China on debt issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund chief Kristlina Georgieva said she had a "fruitful exchange" with her Chinese counterparts this week on her repeated calls for accelerating debt treatments for countries like Zambia and Sri Lanka. Georgieva, World Bank President David Malpass and other financial leaders met in person in China's Anhui province this week with officials from the People's Bank of China, China's finance ministry and its EXIM Bank and China Development Bank. Georgieva said the discussions touched on the common framework for debt treatment set up in late 2020 by China, the United State and other Group of 20 major economies, as well as some specific cases of countries seeking debt relief. Implementation of the common framework process has been halting, with only one country, Chad, having completed the debt treatment process, and its agreement not resulting in any actual reductions of the country's debt. Georgieva said she saw "space for a platform for more systematic engagement on debt issues, where China can play an active role," but gave no further details.

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