International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)

Banque internationale pour la reconstruction et le développement (BIRD)
Banco Internacional de Reconstrucción y Fomento (BIRF)

Founded

1945-12-27 Washington DC USA

History

27 Dec 1945, Washington DC (USA), when Bank's Charter, or 'Articles of Agreement', was signed by 28 nations; commenced operations 25 Jun 1946. IBRD was conceived at Bretton Woods Conference, 22 Jul 1944, when representatives of 44 nations met to lay plans for international economic and financial cooperation in postwar years. Most nations attending the Conference later ratified the Bank's Charter and became the first members. Although the USSR never became a member, after its dissolution its component republics individually applied for admission in 1991 and 1992. The Bank is a specialized agency of A-XA3375 - United Nations (UN) within F-XF1000 - United Nations System and linked to E-XE3377 - ECOSOC. Formal relations between the Bank and the UN are governed by an agreement approved by the Bank's Board of Governors in Sep 1947 and by the UN General Assembly in Nov 1947. Relations with the United Nations are maintained through the F-XF6841 - The World Bank Group, which is an umbrella organization comprising the IBRD with its affiliates: B-XB1791 - International Development Association (IDA), F-XF2057 - International Finance Corporation (IFC) and F-XF1090 - Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The IBRD is also known popularly as World Bank -- Banque mondiale -- Banco Mundial, although the expression 'World Bank' in fact technically refers to IBRD and IDA together.

Aims

Help reduce global poverty and promote the economic development of member countries by making loans to governments, or with a government guarantee, below conventional rates of interest for high-priority productive projects in cases where capital is not obtainable from other sources on reasonable terms; provide member countries with technical assistance on matters relating to their economic development; try to increase the effectiveness of the international development effort by fostering cooperation with and among other donors of financial and technical assistance.

Events

Activities

Structure

Board of Governors, consisting of one Governor appointed by each member nation, delegates most authority to (currently 24) Executive Directors, 5 appointed by the nations having the largest capital subscription (USA, Germany, Japan, UK, France) and 19 elected for 2-year terms by the Governors of the remaining member countries. Each Director appoints an Alternate. Directors are resident in Washington DC (USA) and meet in weekly session plus other meetings as required. They are responsible for matters of policy and approve all the loans made by the Bank. Appointed Directors cast the votes of the appointing country; elected Directors cast the total votes of the electing countries. Voting power is proportionate to a nation's capital subscription. Executive Directors select President who is their Chairman, ex officio, is responsible for day-to-day operations, including making recommendations to Executive Directors on loans and questions of policy, and is also the President of each IBRD affiliate. The same Executive Directors govern IBRD, IFC and IDA (MIGA has a separate Board of Directors, most members of which are also IBRD Executive Directors). The Board of Governors normally meets once a year in the Autumn jointly with the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of F-XF2266 - International Monetary Fund (IMF); the two organizations were established together as complementary institutions and are often referred to as E-XE4376 - Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs). The Executive Directors and Alternate Directors of the Fund in some cases also serve on the Executive Board of the Bank, and the same is true of some Governors.

/Officers/:

• President;
• Managing Directors (4);
• Senior Vice-President/Chief Financial Officer;
• Senior Vice-President, Development Economics/Chief Economist;
• Regional Vice-Presidents and Offices (6):
• -Africa,
• -East Asia and the Pacific,
• -Europe and Central Asia,
• -Latin America and the Caribbean,
• -Middle East and North Africa,
• -South Asia;
• Further Vice-Presidents (17):
• -Chief Information Officer,
• -Controller,
• -Corporate Secretary,
• -External Affairs, Europe,
• -External Affairs and UN Affairs,
• -Financial Sector,
• -General Counsel,
• -Human Resources,
• -Network Head, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development,
• -Network Head, Human Development,
• -Network Head, Operations Policy and Country Services,
• -Network Head, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management,
• -Private Sector Development and Infrastructure/Network Head, Private Sector and Infrastructure,
• -Resource Mobilization and Cofinancing,
• -Strategy and Resource Management,
• -Treasurer,
• -World Bank Institute;
• Director-General, Operations Evaluation.

E-XE7670 - World Bank Institute (WBI), established 1955, is an autonomous unit within the Bank.

Languages

Staff

Finance

Relations with Inter-Governmental Organizations

Relations with Non-Governmental Organizations

Publications

Members

Type I Classification

Type II Classification

Subjects ^*

UN Sustainable Development Goals ^**

UIA Org ID

XF1393