From Traderpedia

Definition: An international financial organisation, owned and run by 181 member countries, and based out of Washington DC.

Essentially, the World Bank is made up of five associated international financial institutions. They are:

• International Developement Association (IDA)
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
• International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
• International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

Formed after the Bretton Woods conference of 1945 to help with the reconstruction of Europe after World War II, it is a sister organisation to the International Monetary Fund. Its purpose is to lends funds at commercial rates and to provide assistance to facilitate economic developement in the poorer member countries.

Voting power of a member state is proportional to the economic size of the country. Hence, Japan, Italy, Germany, the USA, the UK, France, Canada and Russia hold over 50% of the voting power.

[edit] External links

• World Bank web site