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WB/IMF roles

World Bank Group President Ajay Banga enters headquarters on his first day, Washington DC, 2 June 2023.

IFI governance

Analysis

Annual Meetings 2023 Preamble: Lack of governance reform and economic transformation front and centre as World Bank and IMF meet in Africa for first time in 50 years

As the World Bank moves toward finalising its ‘Evolution Roadmap’, and IMF shareholders struggle to agree on an outcome to the 16th Review of Quotas, the stakes in Morocco are high.

5 October 2023

Finance

News

Debt overhang risks another lost decade and could derail progress on poverty reduction and SDGs

Over 60 per cent of low-income countries and more than 25 percent of emerging market economies are in or at risk of debt distress, and are in danger of being unable to fulfil their fiscal obligations.

8 December 2022

IFI governance

Analysis

G20 press briefing analysis Annual Meetings 2022: Challenges and differences in view, as escalating geopolitical conflicts worsen the economic situation

The Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati acknowledged the G20 faced "many challenges" and "differences in view", with "escalating geopolitical conflicts worsening the economic situation.”

19 October 2022

IFI governance

Analysis

G24 communiqué analysis – Spring Meetings 2022

G24 finance ministers called for urgent global action to mitigate the effects of rising debt levels in emerging economies, and rising global food, energy and commodity prices.

25 April 2022

IFI governance

Background

What are the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings?

This Inside the Institutions looks at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings, one of two official yearly events bringing together BWI governors, officials, civil society, academics and journalists to discuss major economic developments and global governance.

4 October 2022 | Inside the institutions

Finance

Background

What is World Bank Development Policy Financing?

This Inside the Institutions provides an overview of one of the World Bank’s most controversial types of lending, Development Policy Financing, and outlines some key critiques of the instrument.

23 March 2021

IFI governance

Analysis

Annual Meetings 2020 Preamble: IMF and World Bank frontload austerity and privatisation in Covid-19 recovery, while the world calls for more inclusive multilateralism

As the inability of Bank and Fund to adapt their policies in response to the Covid-19 pandemic becomes more evident, hope turns to the UN system and a radical restructure of the global international financial architecture.

12 October 2020

Rights

Analysis

Fears of lawsuits at World Bank’s tribunal constrain efforts to fight pandemic

Covid-19 pandemic highlights the urgent need for ICSID and wider ISDS reforms as cases threaten to undermine state efforts to protect public health.

16 July 2020

Other news

Land

News

5 April 2023

Corporations are expanding control over Ukraine’s land with help from the IMF and the World Bank

New report from the Oakland Institute exposes the stealth take-over of Ukrainian agricultural land known as the “breadbasket of Europe”.

Finance

News

16 July 2020

Failure to lend to Venezuela and Iran once again raises questions around IMF’s political neutrality

IMF fails to respond to loan requests from Iran and Venezula as they struggle to respond to increasing Covid-19 cases and deaths.

Conditionality

Background

16 April 2016 | Minutes

IMF and World Bank’s Influence on Economic Policy Making in Developing Countries

Notes from a meeting at the IMF/World Bank CSO Forum at the 2016 Spring meetings, evaluating how well the World Bank and IMF have done on respecting the country ownership principle ten years after its international acceptance.

IFI governance

News

5 April 2012

2012 World Bank-IMF spring meetings schedule

Tentative schedule of the World Bank-IMF spring meetings in Washington DC, from 18 to 21 April, 2012.

Land

Background

13 March 2012 | Minutes

Notes of meeting between Stewart James, Alternate UK Executive Director to the World Bank, and NGOs

Civil society organisations met UK Executive Director to the World Bank and staff from the Department for International Development to discuss agriculture, land grabs, food security, the safeguards review process, the selection of the next World Bank president, the doing business indicators, and the debt sustainability framework.

Private Sector

News

7 February 2012

ICSID offers "impunity" for corporations

In October 2011 international coalition of civil society groups Seattle to Brussels Network held an international week of action against bilateral investment treaties.

Accountability

21 November 2011

IMF's "trusted advisor" role to be scrutinised

The IMF's Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) has released an issues paper describing how it will assess whether the IMF has strengthened its 'trusted advisor' role since 2005.

Conditionality

News

21 November 2011

IFIs macroeconomic policy "anti-growth"

"Why have the policy tutors performed so miserably and the pupils so brilliantly?", wondered Professor John Weeks of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in an October article for Social Europe Journal.