US President Joe Biden announced his administration’s nominee to lead the World Bank on Thursday.
Biden named former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga as Washington’s choice to betting the India-born executive’s ties to the private sector and emerging markets will jump-start the 77-year-old institution’s overhaul to better address climate change.
The World Bank (WB) o said it expects to select a new president by early May to replace David Malpass, who announced his resignation last week after months of controversy sparked by his initial refusal to say if he accepted the scientific consensus on climate change, and pressure by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for him to adopt “bolder” reforms, Reuters reported.
Biden noted Banga’s decades of experience building global companies and public-private partnerships to fund responses to climate change and migration and said he had a proven track record working with global leaders.
“Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history,” Biden said in a statement, hailing the business executive’s Indian roots and knowledge of the challenges facing developing countries and ability to mobilize private capital to tackle big problems.
