World Bank President Zoellick to Step Down June 30th

16 February 2012

WORLD BANK - WASHINGTON, February 15, 2012 – World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick announced today he would step down at the end of a five-year term in which a transformed Bank played an historic role during the global economic crisis, using record replenishments to provide more than $247 billion to help developing countries boost growth and overcome poverty.

Among some of the areas of Bank leadership during Zoellick’s tenure:

Nimble/Activist Crises Initiatives

· Provided a record $247 billion of support in the key areas of infrastructure, the private sector, agriculture, trade finance, social safety nets, education, health, and the environment;

· The first general capital increase for the Bank in over 20 years, with over half the new capital from developing countries; and a record $90 billion raised for IDA, the World Bank’s fund for the poorest, against a very challenging backdrop of donor austerity;

· Putting Food First: Alerted the world to the forthcoming food crisis, and helped marshal new resources and tools to address it. World Bank agriculture lending increased to $6 billion per year.

· Created a new IFC (private sector) Asset Management Company to channel sovereign wealth funds and pension resources (to date $3 billion) to the private sector in Africa and other emerging markets.

Modernized World Bank

· Opened up the World Bank – landmark Access to Information policy, and Open Data Initiative throwing open the doors on Bank processes, projects, and data;  to boost transparency and accountability all Bank projects have been geo mapped with clearly defined results-measurement. Last year, the Bank was ranked #1 for aid transparency by Publish What You Fund. 

· Increased the Bank's results focus and launched the Bank’s third-ever lending instrument – Program for Results, which disburses money after verifiable results have been achieved.

· Advanced the Bank’s anti-corruption focus with a new sanctions policy, new preventative unit, new cross debarment agreement with other multilateral development banks, new Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) initiative, and the launch of an International Corruption Hunters Alliance.

· Blended innovation and practicality with new programs such as the Climate Investment Funds ($7.1 billion of contributions leveraged nearly $50 billion of investment spanning 46 countries).

· Transformed the Bank’s leadership: Half of senior officers are now women; almost half are from developing countries, including the Bank's first Chief Economist from a developing country - Justin Lin from China;

· and, maintained a flat real budget over 5 years, along with the Bank’s AAA rating.

Modernized Multilateralism

· Led the Bank’s efforts with the G-20, helping secure progress on development, agriculture, food security, infrastructure, and other issues.

· New ventures: Nairobi Center focusing on security, conflict and development; “Gender Equality as Smart Economics”; Singapore Hub on Urban and Infrastructure development; Arab World Initiative.

· Expanded voice of developing countries at the World Bank, particularly with an additional board seat for Sub Saharan Africa. Launched a new Partnership for Social Accountability to bring citizen voices into the development mainstream.

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