The World Bank

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), better known as the World Bank was established at the same time as the international monetary fund to tackle the problem of international investment. Since the IMF was designed to provide temporary assistance in correcting balance of payments difficulties and institution was also needed to assist long term investment purposes. Thus, IBRD was established for promoting long- term investment loans on reasonable terms.

The world bank (IBRD) is an inter- governmental institution, corporate inform the capital stock of which is entirely owned by its member governments initially only nations that were members for the IMF could be members of the world bank this restriction on membership was subsequently relaxed.

Functions

The principal functions of the IBRD are set forth in article I of the agreement as follows:

1. To assist in the reconstruction and development of the territories of its members by facilitating the investment of capital for productive purpose.

2. To promote private foreign investment by means of guarantee of participation in loans and other investments made by private investor and when private capital is not available on reasonable terms to make loans for productive purposes out of its own resources or from borrowed by it. 

3. To promote the long- term balanced growth of international trade and the maintenance of equilibrium in balance of payments by econouraging international investment for the development of the productive resources of members.

4. To arrange loans made or guaranteed by it in relation to international loaned through other channel so that more useful and urgent projects large and small alike, will be dealt with first, it appears that the World Bank was created to promote and not to replace private foreign investment. The bank considers its role to be a marginal one to supplement and assist private foreign investment in the member countries. 

A little consideration will show that the objectives of the IMF and IBRD are complementary. Both aim at increasing the level of national income and standard of living of the member nations. Both serve as lending institutions the IMF for short-term and the IBRD for long- term capital both aim at promoting the balanced growth of international trade.

Bank’s organisation

Like the fund the bank structure is organized on a three-tier basis a board of governor, executive director and a president. The board of governors is the supreme governing authority. It consists of one governor (usually the finance minister) and one alternate governor (usually the governor of the central bank), appointed for five years by each member. The board is required to meet once every year. It reserves to itself the power to decide important matters such as new admissions changes in the bank stock for capital ways and means of distributing the net income, its ultimate liquidation etc. For all technical purposes, however, the Board delegates its powers to the executive directors in the day-to-day administration. 

Capital resources 

The World Bank, like any other corporation, has an authorized capital of $21 billion divide into 2,10,000 shares, each having a par value of $10,00,000. Initially however its authorized cattail was $10 billion. Of the present authorities authorized capital $20.48 billion are subscribed by issue of 2,04,848 shares. However, only 10 per cent of the par value $2.04 billion have been called in as paid up capital. The capital stock of the bank can be increased if a ¾^thmajority for the total voting power is cast in favour. Of the paid-up capital 2% has to be subscribed in gold or U.S dollars, the remaining 98% has to be paid in the currency of the member.

Technical and advisory assistance

In addition to providing financial assistance to member countries, the bank has been rendering signal service to its members by providing them suitable technical assistance to assess their total economic resources and to set up priorities to be followed in their development programs. Technical assistance on a broader scale has also been provided, for instance, in development programming through survey missions, which make intensive studies of national resources and formulate recommendations to serve as the basis of long-term development programmes.

Services: - The World Bank Homework | The World Bank Homework Help | The World Bank Homework Help Services | Live The World Bank Homework Help | The World Bank Homework Tutors | Online The World Bank Homework Help | The World Bank Tutors | Online The World Bank Tutors | The World Bank Homework Services | The World Bank