The World Bank voted to change its internal lending guidelines, which will free up $30 billion in additional lending capacity over the next decade.
This will help developing countries and emerging markets tackle climate change and other global challenges, World Bank President Ajay Banga told the media.
Banga said the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (IBRD) unit would cut its equity to lending ratio by 1 percentage point to 18 percent, taking on slightly more risk as it continues to implement reforms outlined in an independent report prepared for the Group of 20 (G-20) major economies and requested by its shareholders, including the United States.
The move, coupled with changes to the bank's pricing policy, means the bank will increase its lending capacity by a total of $150 billion over the next seven to 10 years through adjustments to its balance sheet, Banga said.
The changes come at a time of rising global challenges such as the war in Ukraine, escalating violence in the Middle East, worsening weather disasters and huge levels of government debt. Banga said one of the biggest looming crises is an expected shortfall of nearly 800 million jobs for the 1.2 billion people who will reach working age in the next 10 years. | BGNES
