The World Bank turns 75, which it was created on December 27, 1945 with the name "International Bank for Reconstruction and Development“, after the signing of the Bretton Woods agreement, between July 1 and 22, 1944. On May 9, 1947, the World Bank, based in Washington, approved its first loan, which was granted to France for 250 million dollars (in terms of present value, this is the largest loan from the Bank).
The World Bank was established, just after the Second World War, mainly to help Europe and Japan in their reconstruction after the conflict, but with the decolonization movement of the XNUMXs, the number of countries to be financed increased, and the credit institution therefore ended up also and mainly dealing with the economic development of the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
In fact, initially the World Bank mainly financed large infrastructures (power plants, highways, airports), but with the economic recovery of Japan and Europe, it concentrated precisely on developing countries, dealing since 1990 also of post-communist countries.
The World Bank Group was established in June 2007 and comprises five institutions:
- The most important is the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), its functioning is guaranteed by the payment of a fee established by the Member States;
- International Development Agency (IDA), founded in 1960, whose loans are reserved for the least developed countries;
- The International Finance Corporation (IFC), founded in 1956 to finance loans and investments made by companies in risky countries;
- International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), established in 1966;
- Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), established in 1988 to obtain loans
The World Bank's goals have evolved over the years. She has recently focused on poverty reduction, abandoning the single goal of economic growth. It also supports the creation of very small businesses and has supported the idea that clean water, education and sustainable development are the key to economic growth, starting to invest massively in such projects and in policies in favor of environmental protection and social.
According to the charter, the loans are paid on a purely economic basis, therefore the political regime of the beneficiary country is not taken into account. This last point, however, has evolved since 2000: "The idea that aid is granted to a country in difficulty, under certain conditions for the use of that assistance (in terms of management of the asset, but respect for human rights, for example) is now widely accepted”.
