When was the World Bank officially founded?

The World Bank is an UN organization. It was set up to finance projects to further the economic development of its member nations. Its foundations relate at the UN Monetary and Financial Conference at Bretton Woods in 1944, and officially came to life in 1946. Back in the post-war era, the Bank made loans for die reconstruction of Europe. Later the emphasis shifted from Europe to the developing world. In 2000, the Bank lent almost 16 billion dollars to its client countries. It says that its dream is a world free of poverty. Much of the money then goes towards the effort to strengthen and build capital markets. Another slice of money is loaned for projects, such as water supply, and sanitation. There are three main sources of funds for the Bank—subscriptions hit up by member countries, bond issues on the world financial markets, and net earnings on the Bank’s assets. The World Bank has 183 member countries. All members must first join the International Monetary Fund. Members are shareholders of the Bank. They do not all pull equal weight within the organization. The leading contributors are the United States, Japan, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. They have the biggest say in World Bank policy. Each of these five countries has a nominee on the Bank’s board of executive directors. The remaining 178 countries are—between them—allowed to nominate a total of 19 other board members. It is this select board that decides on the Bank’s work.