David Malpass to Step Down as World Bank President

Malpass took over the helm of the World Bank in April 2019 after serving as the US Treasury’s top international affairs officer in the Trump administration. Under his management, crises such as the covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were brewing.

In recent months, he has come under fire from the White House for refusing to say he supported the scientific consensus on global warming. He later apologized and reiterated his view that human activity contributes to climate change.

More recently, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen launched a major push to reform the way the World Bank works to ensure broader lending to combat climate change and other global challenges.

The bank said in a statement that it “responded quickly” to challenges, in particular by mobilizing a record $440 billion to respond to the pandemic.

“Under his leadership, the Bank Group more than doubled climate finance in developing countries, reaching a record $32 billion last year,” the statement added, referring to Malpass.

With information from Reuters and AFP.