[1/2] World Bank President Ajay Banga arrives for his first day at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, US on June 2, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) – New World Bank president Ajay Banga on Friday asked the lender’s 16,000 employees to double down on development and climate efforts as he seeks to accelerate the bank’s development to address the most pressing global issues.
On his first day on the job, the former CEO of Mastercard (MA.N) told staff in a memo seen by Reuters that he would try to recruit each of them to work towards his vision “to create a world without poverty in a livable planet.”
“To deliver on our ambition, we must evolve to maximize resources and write a new playbook, think creatively, take informed risks and forge new partnerships with civil society and multilateral institutions,” Banga wrote.
He also said the bank needed to become more efficient, reducing approval time for financing projects, which can now take up to three years.
“The process is overly elaborate and subject to multiple review mechanisms that not only take valuable years but also undermine staff ambition,” he said, contributing to a “trust deficit” among developing countries.
Banga met with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday, who urged him to “get the most out of the bank’s balance sheet” and mobilize more private capital, the Treasury said.
Yellen last year began pressuring the World Bank and other multilateral lenders to revamp their business models and dramatically scale up credit resources to address climate change, pandemics, food security and other global crises.
This would take development lenders beyond the country-specific project loans they’ve been pursuing for decades, though it has required them to maintain their core mission of reducing poverty.
In his memo, which included his statement to the World Bank’s Governing Council during an April 1 job interview, Banga said annual investments of trillions of dollars were needed to halt the forces of climate change and fragility, while at the same time protecting human capital is built up and inequality in the world is combated. healthcare, education and financial access.
“We are at a critical juncture in humanity’s and the planet’s arc. The World Bank Group is being asked to lead the way, redoubling development and climate efforts and delivering even greater impact and results,” he said.
He added that this would require “all shoulders to the wheel” and that all World Bank divisions should work together to provide solutions the world needs.
Banga, 63, was elected president of the World Bank for a five-year term by the lender’s board of directors in May. Nominated by US President Joe Biden, the Indian-born finance and development expert was the only candidate for the job.
CLIMATE REQUIREMENTS
He takes over from David Malpass, who came under fire last year for comments that raised questions about his personal views on global warming, despite the bank doubling climate finance during his tenure to $32 billion last year. year.
Climate and development groups welcomed Banga and began presenting demands, including that the bank withdraw completely from financing fossil fuel-based projects and take stronger measures to cancel poor countries’ debts.
Kevin Gallagher, director of Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center, said Banga must first restore staff morale at the bank and implement balance sheet reforms quickly to squeeze more loans from existing resources.
“Under his tutelage, the world must deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals and a large tranche of the Paris climate pledges. He simply cannot do this without a capital increase and a large increase in resources.”
Reporting by David Lawder; Edited by David Holmes and Hugh Lawson