World Bank Group
Posted on:1/28/2006
| The World Bank Group is a group of five international organizations responsible for providing finance to countries for purposes of development and poverty reduction, and for encouraging and safeguarding international investment. |
Together with the separate International Monetary Fund, the World Bank organizations are sometimes called the Bretton Woods institutions, after Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, where the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference that led to their establishment took place (1 July-22 July 1944).
The Bank came into formal existence on 27 December 1945 following international ratification of the Bretton Woods agreements. Commencing operations on 25 June 1946, it approved its first loan on 9 May 1947 ($250m to France for postwar reconstruction, in real terms the largest loan issued by the Bank to date). Its five agencies are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Development Association (IDA), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Logo of the World Bank Group
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