All eyes on Ajay Banga as IMF, WB spring meetings begin today
The bank has set out its own vision for transformation, in response to calls for action from the United States and others. The plan includes measures to increase transparency and accountability, as well as to reduce the risk of corruption.
Ajay Banga is the chief executive officer of MasterCard. He spoke to media at a press conference held in Mumbai, India on September 30, 2010. By David Gelles, and Alan Rappeport
Published:
Sun 9 Apr 2023, 7:41 PM
The bank should do more to aid poor countries in the face of climate change, as urged by Emanuel Macron, France's Prime Minister, and Mia Mottley, Barbados's Vice-President. In response to the United States' calls for action, the bank has developed its own vision of transformation. Ajay Banga will be the central figure of these discussions. He is widely expected be confirmed as the bank's president in the next weeks. Long-time finance executive, Mr. Banga was appointed chief executive of Mastercard in 2010. This came shortly after the company went public. It had previously been owned by more than 25,000 financial institutions. Mike Froman, a veteran Mastercard executive, said that Mike Froman transformed what was once a slow bank-association culture into an agile, innovative, proactive, and now Fortune 20 company. He is currently preparing to assume control of the Council on Foreign Relations. In an interview, he stated that inequality is intertwined with climate change challenges, such as fragility of world with refugees and other related challenges, along with the challenges of conflict and challenges like the pandemic and challenges with Russia and Ukraine and what it does to food, fertiliser and so on. Banga will also have to deal with delicate diplomatic issues when he takes over the role. Ms. Yellen stated that she was concerned about China's global investments in countries that result in them being entrapped in debt and don’t promote economic growth. It could be challenging for the Bank to secure additional funding that would enable it to expand its lending capacity. The United States does not call for an increase in bank capital. Yellen stated that she wanted to see the federal mobilization private resources in addition to Bank investments. He stated that China's borrowing from the bank will be more accepted if it is used for projects with global benefits such as reducing carbon emissions rather than traditional local projects. After David Malpass, the current bank president, stated that he would retire one year earlier than planned, Banga was selected to be the Bank's new leader in February. Criticians have been shaming the bank for years. They claim it hasn’t responded adequately to the economic devastation caused by climate change. This is especially true in poor countries. Banga, who was born in India, will become the first Bank president representing the developing world. Bloomberg stated in a statement that Bloomberg had made it clear that climate change would be more fully integrated into the bank’s mission and work. Banga will be in Washington this Week, but he won't have any formal role at the meetings because he hasn't been confirmed. The New York Times published the article previously