Ajay Banga, a former CEO of Mastercard and the son of an Indian army commander, was approved on Wednesday to manage the World Bank for a five-year term beginning next month.
The American nominee, a seasoned businessman, replaces David Malpass, a Donald Trump choice who is leaving the 189-nation organization early due to pressure for not declaring whether he agreed with the scientific consensus on climate change.
In a statement following Banga’s confirmation as president, the bank’s executive directors expressed their eagerness to collaborate with him on all of the institution’s “ambitions and efforts aimed at tackling the toughest development challenges facing developing countries.”
Following Malpass’s announcement that he would resign by June 30, President Joe Biden selected Banga in February. He praised the nominee for his “critical experience” in addressing “the most urgent challenges of our time,” such as climate change.
Banga “will help steer the institution as it evolves and expands to address global challenges that directly affect its core mission of poverty reduction, including climate change,” Biden said on Wednesday.
The United States is the bank’s largest stakeholder and has historically proposed the person who will lead the company. According to American authorities, combating climate change will play a significant role in the bank’s lending decisions.
According to Janet Yellen, secretary of the Treasury, Banga will be in charge of achieving “ambitious goals for climate adaptation and emissions reduction.” According to her statement from last Wednesday, “our ambitious goals will not be met overnight, and we remain committed to a staged adoption of reforms over the course of the year to build on the vision we have laid out.”
Malpass, whose term was set to end in April 2024, came under fire last year for remarks he made at a conference that seemed to question the scientific consensus that the use of fossil fuels contributes to global warming. Later, he expressed regret and said he had made a mistake, noting that the bank frequently uses climate science.
Leaders and activists from less developed countries, particularly those that are more susceptible to the extreme weather made worse by climate change, have demanded significant reforms in the entire system of multilateral development banks.
The Bridgetown Initiative, proposed by the prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, and endorsed by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, would make it simpler and quicker for developing nations affected by natural disasters to obtain funding with lower interest rates for both recovery and the construction of more resilient structures.
With more than 30 years of business expertise, Banga most recently served as vice chairman at the private equity firm General Atlantic. He has also served on the boards of Dow Inc., Kraft Foods, and the American Red Cross.
He was born in 1959 and educated in some of India’s premier institutions. When India’s economy liberalized in the early 1990s, Banga was able to work and rise through the ranks of multinational corporations breaking into India
