Apr 19, 2024
Rich Nations Propose $11 Billion for World Bank to Boost Lending
Bloomberg News
,(Bloomberg) -- Eleven rich countries including Japan, the UK and US proposed providing the World Bank with $11 billion in additional funds, which the bank says it could leverage up to $70 billion for lending.
The nations pledged the funds for use in the World Bank’s portfolio guarantee platform, which offers support when borrowers can’t repay, a hybrid capital mechanism and its Livable Planet Fund.
Raising fresh money for the World Bank has been a difficult task in the past several years. A Biden administration plan announced last year to send $3.3 billion to the bank from the US has stalled in Congress.
Read More: Biden’s Push for World Bank Funds to Compete With China Stalls
World Bank members approved a $13 billion paid-in capital increase in 2018. The bank’s two major lending arms committed a combined $72.8 billion last year, with total cumulative lending since 1945 at nearly $1.4 trillion.
Details of the commitments announced Friday:
- Japan: $1 billion for the portfolio guarantee platform and a contribution to the Livable Planet Fund, to tackle global challenges like pandemic prevention and preparedness
- US: Requested $750 million for portfolio guarantee platform
- UK: £100 million ($124 million) for hybrid capital
- Netherlands: Contribution to unlock about 500 million euros ($533 million)
- Belgium providing a $70 million portfolio guarantee to the World Bank’s Global Solutions Accelerator Platform
- Contributions from Germany, France, Norway, Latvia, Italy, Denmark
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