Ajay Banga alone in the running to take the helm of the World Bank

Traditionally, the WB is the preserve of the United States, a citizen of which has always led the Bank since its creation, in the wake of the Bretton Woods agreements in 1944.

But this hegemony was increasingly challenged, in particular by the major emerging countries, Brazil, China, India and Russia in the lead, who have wanted for several years to see their place in international financial institutions strengthened.

The context of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the trade war between China and the United States might have foreshadowed competing candidacies, the Russian agency TASS even assuring, at the beginning of March, that Vladimir Putin was going to propose a Russian candidacy.

But nothing happened in the end and the WB confirmed it Thursday in a press release: “the board of directors has received an application and specifies that Ajay Banga, American citizen, will be considered for the position” .

The name of the successor to David Malpass, who will leave his post at the latest at the end of June, must be known at the beginning of May.

Despite the presence of a single candidate, the WB announced that it would complete the selection process as initially envisaged, with in particular a hearing of Mr. Banga by the executive directors of the institution, who represent the main Member States, before possible appointment to the post.

However, no timetable is known for the next steps, a source close to the WB said, stressing that the opening, on April 10 and for one week, of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and WB, may lengthen the process slightly.

“The announcement should not take place before the beginning of May,” the same source added.

David Malpass must in particular deliver the first speech formally launching these half-yearly meetings of the two institutions, which are traditionally the occasion for an update of the world economic forecasts for the current year.

Support from emerging countries

The process of nominating candidates was formally opened on February 23, with the United States proposing Mr. Banga’s candidacy as soon as it was launched.

He immediately embarked on numerous trips abroad, in order to obtain the widest possible support for his election, particularly from emerging or developing countries.

He can thus already count on India, Kenya and even South Africa, which have already announced that they will support his candidacy.

And the Treasury Department is particularly optimistic for the rest of the process, considering that “the reception (by the other States) has been very positive”, according to a Treasury official interviewed by AFP.

“I think the campaign is going very well”, he added, “his experience is seen as essential, as is his knowledge of the private sector and of private-public partnerships, which are essential in the context of the World Bank”.

A campaign nevertheless interrupted for a week, Mr. Banga being confined to India, following having tested positive for Covid-19.

If no other candidate had so far been announced publicly, the States had the possibility of sending a candidacy privately to the board of directors of the WB, which might therefore only announce the list of candidates to the outcome of the process, which ended on Wednesday evening.

Among its recommendations to the States, the Bank had insisted on the possibility of proposing the candidacy of women for the post. The institution has been directed, since its creation, only by men.

An American citizen but born and raised in India, where he began his professional career, Ajay Banga would become the first president of the World Bank not to be born in the United States.

According to a tacit agreement between the Western powers dating back to 1945, the WB is traditionally led by an American, the direction of the IMF being reserved for a European.