The World Bank faces uncertainty due to the structural rearranging that is about to take place and the recent establishment of a development bank created by BRICS. However, there has been some good news: the World Bank recently released some statistics showing that there was an increase in commitments of 16 percent, from $52.6 billion in 2013 to $61 billion in 2014.

This increase in commitments came from three different institutions that fall under the larger umbrella of the World Bank: the International Development Association, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.

The International Development Association is the World Bank’s main arm for providing low-interest loans and grants to the world’s poorest countries. Through an increase of $5.9 billion, they have hit a new record of $22.2 billion in commitments.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is designed to provide loans, financing, risk management products and financial services to creditworthy poorer countries. By increasing their commitments to $3.4 billion, their grand total for the fiscal year reached $18.6 billion.

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency handles the political risk insurance section of the World Bank. Through an increase of $4 million, the Agency also hit a new record of $3.2 billion in new business in the 2014 fiscal year.

“We pledged $1.5 billion to the hard-hit Sahel region, to boost economic growth and lift people out of devastating poverty and committed $2 billion in Myanmar to bring health care and electricity to everyone,” said World Bank Managing Director and COO Sri Mulyani Indrawati. “We laid the groundwork for a regional power project in Central and South Asia, and are helping neighboring Jordan and Lebanon to cope with the influx of Syrian refugees.”

This increase in commitments will hopefully continue into the 2014 fiscal year so that even more good work can be done.

– Andre Gobbo

Sources: Devex, World Bank
Photo: AfricaGreenMedia