World Bank race heats up nominees are announced

It was a rare example of unity among countries often at loggerheads as they strive for dominance on the continent. Less than a day before the deadline to nominate, Washington has yet to announce its candidate — normally a shoo-in and still considered likely to be the appointee. The United States has held the presidency […]

It was a rare example of unity among countries often at loggerheads as they strive for dominance on the continent. Less than a day before the deadline to nominate, Washington has yet to announce its candidate — normally a shoo-in and still considered likely to be the appointee. The United States has held the presidency since the bank’s inception after World War Two, and a European has always headed the IMF.

 

Brazil would like to nominate former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo, but it can’t do so without Colombia’s support, which now looks unlikely. While Ocampo had agreed to stand and Brazil was willing to nominate him, Colombian Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry said on Thursday his country was instead focusing on a bid for the presidency of the International Labour Organization. He said that effort had a greater chance of success than going for the World Bank job because Colombia already held the top post at the Inter-American Development Bank.

Russia, a member of the so-called BRICs caucus of large emerging market economies, has refrained from publicly backing a non-U.S. candidate and instead called for a greater role for them in top management at international financial institutions.

Although the World Bank board would like to reach a consensus, Washington retains the largest single voting share and could expect the support of European nations and Japan, the bank’s second-largest voting member. President Barack Obama yesterday nominated Dartmouth College president Jim Yong Kim to succeed Robert Zoellick as the head of the World Bank, picking a Korean-born former HIV/AIDS official with the World Health Organization to lead the anti-poverty institution.

The rise of emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil has put pressure on the United States and Europe to throw open the selection process for both the bank and the IMF. Last year, all of the bank’s 187 member countries agreed on a transparent, merit-based process to select a president.

The new head of the bank will be taking over as the euro zone debt crisis slows the global economic recovery, undercutting demand in emerging and developing markets. The person will have to decide how best to deploy resources in a budget-cutting environment in which large bank shareholders such as the United States are demanding results-based development, more transparency and greater efforts to tackle corruption.

Reuters