The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and financial assistance to developing countries for capital programs with the goal of reducing poverty. It makes decisions guided by promoting foreign investment, international trade, and facilitating capital investment. It was founded in 1944 at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire and opened in 1946. The World Bank comprises the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association, and is part of the larger World Bank Group which also includes the International Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

1. WORLD BANK

2. The World Bank is an international finance
institution that provides loans to developing
countries for capital programmers. The World
Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty.
According to the World Bank's Articles of
Agreement (As amended effective 16 February
1989) all of its decisions must be guided by a
commitment to promote foreign
investment, international trade and
facilitate capital investment.

3. • On July 1, 1944, a group of 44 Allied Nations convened
the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference
at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA.
On December 27, 1945, majority of the participants
of the Bretton Woods Conference signed the Articles of
Agreement. Six months later, on June 25, 1946, the
World Bank opened for the business. All the participants,
except the Soviet Union, eventually joined the World
Bank. Other communist countries like Cuba, and Poland
subsequently ceased to be members.

4. The World Bank differs from the World Bank Group,
in that the World Bank comprises only two institutions:
the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD) and the International Development
Association (IDA), whereas the latter incorporates these
two in addition to three more: International Finance
Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee
Agency (MIGA), and International Centre for Settlement
of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

5. The International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (IBRD) is one of five
institutions that compose the World Bank
Group. The IBRD is an international
organization whose original mission was to
finance the reconstruction of nations
devastated by World War II. Now, its mission
has expanded to fight poverty by means of
financing states. Its operation is maintained
through payments as regulated by member
states.

6. The International Development
Association (IDA), is the part of the World Bank
that helps the world’s poorest countries. It
complements the World Bank's other lending arm
— the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD) — which serves middle-
income countries with capital investment and
advisory services.
IDA was created on September 24, 1960 and is
responsible for providing long-term, interest-free
loans to the world's 78 poorest countries, 39 of
which are in Africa.

7. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) promotes
sustainable private sector investment in developing
countries.
IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is
headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States.
Established in 1956, IFC is the largest multilateral source of
loan and equity financing for private sector projects in the
developing world. It promotes sustainable private sector
development primarily by:
1. Financing private sector projects and companies located
in the developing world.
2. Helping private companies in the developing world
mobilize financing in international financial markets.
3. Providing advice and technical assistance to businesses
and governments.

8. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is a
member organization of the World Bank Group that offers political
risk insurance. It was established to promote foreign direct
investment into developing countries. MIGA was founded in 1988
with a capital base of $1 billion and is headquartered
in Washington, DC. 175 member countries comprise MIGA's
shareholders.
MIGA promotes foreign direct investment into developing
countries by insuring investors against political risk, advising
governments on attracting investment, sharing information
through on-line investment information services, and mediating
disputes between investors and governments. MIGA's
membership in the World Bank Group enables the organization to
intervene with host governments to resolve claims before they
are filed.

9. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment
Disputes (ICSID), an institution of the World Bank
Group based in Washington, D.C., was established
in 1966 pursuant to the Convention on the Settlement of
Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of
Other States (the ICSID Convention or Washington
Convention). As of May 2011, 157 countries had signed
the ICSID Convention.
ICSID has an Administrative Council, chaired by the
World Bank's President, and a Secretariat. It provides
facilities for the conciliation and arbitration of investment
disputes between member countries and individual
investors.

10. OBJECTIVES
The World Bank was organized with the following objectives:
1. To assist in the reconstruction and development of member
countries whose economies were destroyed or disrupted by war,
and to encourage the development of the productive facilities and
resources of the less developed countries.
2. To promote private foreign investments by means of
guarantees or participations in loans, and to supplement private
investment by providing suitable conditions and finance for
private purposes.
3. To promote the long-range balanced growth of international
trade and the maintenance of equilibrium in the balance of
payments by encouraging international investment for the
development of the productive resources of the member
countries.

11. 4. To arrange the loans made or guaranteed by it in
relation to international loans through other channels so
that the more useful and urgent projects will be given first
priority.
5. To conduct its operations with due regard to the effect
of international investment on business conditions in the
member countries, and to bring about a smooth transition
from a wartime to a peacetime economy during the
immediate postwar years.

12. CAPITALIZATION
The initial authorized capital stock of the World Bank was $10 billion.
This was divided into 100,000 shares of the par value of $100,000 each.
In 1992, the authorized capital stock of the bank is $152.25 billion.
Based on the Articles of Agreement, the capital subscription of each
member is divided into three parts:
1. Two Percent of each subscription is payable in gold or US dollar,
which may be used freely by the World Bank in any of its operations.
2. Eighteen percent of each subscription is payable in the currency of
the subscribing member country.
3. The remaining 80% of each subscription is not available to the world
bank for lending. However, this is subject to call if required by the World
bank in order to meet its obligations.

13. Leadership
The President of the Bank, currently Robert B.
Zoellick, is responsible for chairing the meetings of
the Boards of Directors and for overall
management of the Bank. Traditionally, the Bank
President has always been a US citizen nominated
by the United States, the largest shareholder in the
bank. The nominee is subject to confirmation by
the Board of Executive Directors, to serve for a
five-year, renewable term.

14. Voting power
In 2010, voting powers at the World Bank were revised to increase the voice of
developing countries, notably China. The countries with most voting power are
now the United States (15.85%), Japan (6.84%), China (4.42%), Germany
(4.00%), the United Kingdom (3.75%), France (3.75%), and Italy (2.91%). Under
the changes, known as 'Voice Reform – Phase 2', countries other than China that
saw significant gains included South Korea, Turkey, Mexico, Singapore, Greece,
Brazil, India, and Spain. Most developed countries' voting power was reduced,
along with a few poor countries such as Nigeria. The voting powers of the United
States, Russia and Saudi Arabia were unchanged.
The changes were brought about with the goal of making voting more universal in
regards to standards, rule-based with objective indicators, and transparent among
other things. Now, developing countries have an increased voice in the "Pool
Model," backed especially by Europe. Additionally, voting power is based on
economic size in addition to International Development Association contributions.

15. INTERNATIONAL MONETARY
FUND

16. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international
organization that was conceived on July 22, 1944 originally with 45
members and came into existence on December 27, 1945 when 29
countries signed the agreement, with a goal to stabilize exchange rates
and assist the reconstruction of the world’s international payment
system. Countries contributed to a pool which could be borrowed from,
on temporary basis, by countries with payment imbalances. The IMF
works to improve the economies of its member countries. The IMF
describes itself as “an organization of 187 countries (as of July 2010),
working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability,
facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable
economic growth, and reduce poverty.”The organization's stated
objectives are to promote international economic cooperation,
international trade, employment, and exchange rate stability, including
by making resources available to member countries to meet balance of
payments needs. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C.

17. OBJECTIVES
1.To promote international monetary cooperation through
a permanent institution which provides the machinery for
consultation and collaboration about international
monetary problems.
2. To facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of
international trade, and to contribute to the promotion of
high levels of sustained employment, production, and
income among the member countries.
3. To promote exchange stability, to maintain orderly
exchange arrangements among member, and to avoid
competitive exchange depreciation.

18. 4. To assist in the establishment of a multilateral system of
payments regarding current transactions between
members and in the elimination of foreign exchange
restrictions which hamper the growth of world trade.
5. To provide confidence to members with balance of
payments problems by extending loans to them.
6. To shorten the duration and reduce the degree of
disequilibrium in the international balance of payments of
members.

19. Other IMF Facilities
1. Extended fund facility – to support balance of payments for
longer periods and in greater amounts than under the credit
trashes.
2. Supplementary financing facility – to supplement borrowings
from the upper credit tranches and extended fund facility.
3. Compensatory financing facility – to assist primary products of
exporting member countries with balance of payments due to
decline in export income.
4. Oil facility – to extend financial assistance to member
countries with balance of payments problems caused by
increases in the costs of petroleum products.

20. Technical Assistance
One of the major activities of the IMF is to extend
technical assistance to its member countries. IMF
experts, upon request of member countries, give
advice in connection with the following:
-- stabilization programs
-- simplication exchange systems
-- modification of central banking machinery
-- reform of fiscal systems and budgetary controls
-- preparation of financial statistics

21. Principal Functions
1. To promote investment in the region of private and public
capital development purposes.
2. To utilize the resources at its disposal for giving loans for
the less developed member countries in the region.
3. To meet requests from the members in the region for
assistance in the coordination of their development policies
and plans.
4. To provide technical assistance for the preparation,
financing and execution of development

22. ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

23. The Asian Development Bank is an international
development finance institution owned by its member
countries. Its main role is to help promote the economic
and social growth of its developing member countries by
lending funds and extending technical assistance.
The bank started its operation in December 1966 with its
headquarters in Manila. It has 52 members.

24. Lending Operations
The lending operations of the Asian
Development Bank take into the consideration of
the following:
- adjustment in national economies
- capacities of local institution to absorb
assistance and implement ADB-financed projects
- relative levels of economic development
- availability of other sources of financing

25. MAJOR SECTORS
The major sectors covered by ADB loans are the following:
- agriculture and agro-industry
- energy
- industry and non-fuel minerals
- development banks
- transport and communication
- water supply and sanitation
- education
- health and population
- multi-project loans