Motto: Working for a World Free of Poverty Established: July 1994 Type: International Organization Legal Status: Treaty

Purpose/focus: Crediting Location: Washington D.C., U.S Founders: John Maynard Keynes and Harry Dexter White

Membership: (IBRD) 188 countries (IDA) 172 countries (IFC) 184 countries (MIGA) 179 countries (ICSID) 149 countries First President: Eugene Meyer Current President: Jim Yong Kim

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs. The World become a Group, encompassing five closely associated development institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). When we say World Bank Group we are talking about all five branches. When we just say World Bank we are talking about the branches of the World Bank Group that work only with governments IBRD and IDA. The World Bank is not exactly like the banks you might have been to in your town or nearby cities. People do not use it as a place to put their money for savings or safekeeping. Instead, the World Bank lends money to governments to build things like dams or roads, or to make changes to government policies. The money the World Bank provides to governments usually needs to be paid back to the World Bank.

HISTORY The World Bank was created at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, along with three other institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The World Bank and the IMF are both based in Washington DC, and work closely with each other. Although many countries were represented at the Bretton Woods Conference, the United States and United Kingdom were the most powerful in attendance and dominated the negotiations. Traditionally, the World Bank has been headed by a citizen of the United States, while the IMF has been led by a European citizen. Conceived during World War II at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, the World Bank initially helped rebuild Europe after the war. Its first loan of $250 million was to France in 1947 for post-war reconstruction. Reconstruction has remained an important focus of the Bank's work, given the natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies, and post conflict rehabilitation needs that affect developing and transition economies. Today's Bank, however, has sharpened its focus on poverty reduction as the overarching goal of all its work. It once had a homogeneous staff of engineers and financial analysts, based solely in Washington, D.C. Today, it has a multidisciplinary and diverse staff including economists, public policy experts, sectoral experts, and social scientists.

Report By: Exconde, Abigail M. Garcia, Elsie Ann H.