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Trump backer David Malpass named World Bank president
WASHINGTON, April 6, 2019 (AFP) – David Malpass, a senior US Treasury
official and staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, was unanimously
chosen Friday as the next president of the World Bank.
The 63-year-old has been a strident critic of global financial
institutions, calling their lending practices “corrupt” and ineffective, and
complaining they are overly generous to China.
Malpass — who has softened his message since being tapped to lead the
World Bank — begins his five-year term on Tuesday, replacing former
President Jim Yong Kim, whose surprise departure came not even halfway
through his second term.
The announcement came as expected just prior to next week’s joint spring
meetings of the World Bank and the IMF.
The bank said in a statement that Malpass’ selection by the board of
directors followed an “open, transparent” nomination process in which
citizens of all membership countries were potentially eligible.
But since the bank’s creation following World War II, all of its
presidents have been American men, following an unwritten rule that also
ensures European leadership at the top of its sister institution, the
International Monetary Fund.
The US Treasury official in charge of international affairs, Malpass had
been the lone candidate for the World Bank job and his nomination by Trump
earlier this year sparked outrage among critics, who saw it as an affront to
the global anti-poverty lender’s very mission.
Malpass now emphasizes he is committed to the bank’s mission of
eliminating extreme poverty, however, and that reforms enacted last year as
part of a $13 billion capital increase addressed many of his criticisms.
In an open letter to bank staff on Friday, Malpass said the bank’s mission
was “more urgent than ever,” adding that he had “listened carefully” in
recent meetings with staff, board members and other stake holders.
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– An open process? –
In recent years, emerging market countries have challenged the unwritten
arrangement on World Bank and IMF leadership, demanding a more open, merit-
based selection process.
The bank has been at pains to stress that it has heard such criticisms and
now allows a more open process. But the few non-American candidates in recent
years have received little support from major bank shareholders.
Many, including former Treasury officials from both political parties,
have sharply criticized Malpass and his qualifications.
They pointed to his failure to foresee the 2008 global financial crisis
during his time at the now-defunct investment bank Bear Stearns and his
opposition, which later proved unjustified, to post-crisis Federal Reserve
policies.
Malpass previously also held a senior role in the US State Department for
Latin American affairs.
In a statement, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump, the
president’s daughter and advisor who has spearheaded a bank campaign for
women entrepreneurs, both congratulated Malpass, citing what they called a
commitment to poverty reduction in his career.
Mnuchin called Malpass “an ideal fit” to lead the bank while Trump said
she believed he would be “an extraordinary leader.”
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