an Indo-American is the favorite to take the lead

His name was not on the favorites list. The White House announced on Thursday February 23 that it had chosen Ajay Banga, 63, as its candidate to head the World Bank. This American of Indian origin is currently at the head of a fund, General Atlantic, and notably led the Mastercard group.

He has every chance of becoming, for five years, the next president of the World Bank because the United States is the largest shareholder of this institution, with 15.5% of the shares. This is why the Bank is generally run by an American.

The Bank must choose its leader by the beginning of May at the latest. The current president, David Malpass, announced his early departure, a year early.

According to the White House, Ajay Banga “has the necessary experience to mobilize private and public resources to meet the most pressing challenges of our time, including global warming”.

A career in India and then in the United States

David Malpass was indeed very criticized for his lack of commitment in the fight against global warming. President Joe Biden wants the Bank to take a turn in this area. The role of the institution is to be the bank of poor countries, to which it is able to grant subsidized loans.

Ajay Banga was born in India where he studied and started his career. He is not a leading figure in the American business world but has a long career in industry and finance. He started at Nestlé then PepsiCo, before joining the financial sector, at Citigroup then Mastercard.

An adviser to the US President told US reporters that Joe Biden chose Ajay Banga because, according to the White House, he will have a commitment to gender equality and inclusion, and that his experience in India, during the first part of his life, could help him “to have a different perspective” from that of his predecessors.

Committed to development

Ajay Banga most recently co-led the Partnership for Central America, an initiative launched by Vice President Kamala Harris to bring together private sector support for the region to create more economic activity and jobs there.

And the climate? According to US media, Ajay Banga has advocated greater use of green bonds to increase climate finance in developing countries.

The announcement of her candidacy comes as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in India where she is attending a G20 meeting. She welcomed the choice of Ajay Banga. A choice which is also a way of recognizing the increasingly strategic role of India, on the world level, as an essential partner of Western democracies in order to counterbalance Chinese influence.

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