The President of the World Bank stated that the organization may increase its lending capacity by $150 billion over the next decade. However, he emphasised that the institution needs to grow in size to effectively address global challenges.
Reforming the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to enhance their capacity to address climate change, debt, and poverty is a key focus at their annual meetings in Marrakesh, Morocco.
Ajay Banga, the former CEO of Mastercard and the President of the World Bank, has outlined his strategy to reshape the bank’s mission towards “eliminating poverty on a sustainable planet.”
Banga emphasised that challenges such as poverty, pandemics, and climate change represent an interconnected “perfect storm” that must be addressed holistically rather than in isolation.
He explained that adjustments to the balance sheet and contributions from member countries could enhance the lender’s capacity by $150 billion in the coming decade.
“It’s a substantial number, but it’s not going to be enough for the kinds of challenges the world has,” he said at a press conference.
“There is no doubt that we need to be a bigger bank,” Banga said.
He referred to an independent expert panel commissioned by the G20, which suggested tripling the funding for multilateral development banks.
“The G20 expert group has put out its own thinking on that. That has not yet been accepted by the G20,” Banga said.
“I’m definitely going to go back to our shareholders to seek a bigger bank because I believe that is what the world needs for the next coming decades,” he said.
