International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Main component organization of the World Bank. The IBRD lends money to middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries. Most of its funds come from sales of bonds in international capital markets. More than 180 countries are members of the IBRD. Each member's voting power is linked to its capital subscription; the U.S., with some one-sixth of the shares in the IBRD, has veto power over any proposed changes to the bank. See also International Monetary Fund; United Nations Development Programme.

For more information on International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, visit Britannica.com.

Search unanswered questions...

Browse: Unanswered questions | Most-recent questions | Reference library

5min Related Video: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Top

Banking Dictionary: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)

Top

International lending organization, popularly known as the World Bank, founded at the Bretton Woods economic conference in 1944 initially to finance the reconstruction of Europe following World War II, and more recently to provide developing countries with long-term, low-interest credit for industrial development when private financing is unavailable. The World Bank works closely with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and currently has 184 member countries. The World Bank finances its operations through member subscriptions, sale of its own securities, and net earnings. Most World Bank loans are made at variable interest rates pegged to its current cost of funds. Member countries must also be IMF members. In recent years, the World Bank has redefined its traditional role. The bank has set aside funds for new loans, in response to the world debt crisis, and has added its guarantee to new bank loans made to less developed countries. See also Multilateral Development Banks; World Bank Group.

Columbia Encyclopedia: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Top

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) (IBRD), independent specialized agency of the United Nations, with headquarters at Washington, D.C.; one of five closely associated development institutions (also including the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, International Finance Corporation (see below), International Development Association (see below), and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) that constitute the World Bank Group. Plans were laid at the Bretton Woods Conference (1944) for the formation of a world bank; the IBRD was formally organized as the original institution of the World Bank in 1945, when 28 countries ratified the agreement; there are now 186 members. The IBRD aims at reducing poverty in middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries through loans, guarantees, risk management products, and analytical and advisory services. The bank not only makes loans to member nations, but, under government guarantee, to private investors, for the purpose of facilitating productive investment, encouraging foreign trade, and discharging burdens of international debt. All members of the bank must also belong to the International Monetary Fund. The bank is self-sustaining and has maintained a profit on its lending activities. It is controlled by a board of governors, one from each member state. Votes are allocated according to capital subscription. Ordinary affairs are conducted by 22 executive directors, five appointed by the five largest capital subscribers, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, and the United States, and 17 elected by the remaining members. Regional vice presidents oversee the bank's operations in five regions: Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, East Africa, West Africa, and (in one grouping) Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

The bank also operates the Economic Development Institute, which offers training in economic development for officials of member countries. Another development institution is the International Finance Corporation (IFC; est. 1956), which invests in private enterprises without government guarantee. The IFC has 181 member nations. The bank organized the International Development Association (IDA; 1960) to extend credit on easier terms, mainly to developing countries. The IDA has 167 member nations. Members of the IFC and IDA must be members of the IBRD. Criticism that the IBRD-financed projects were environmentally destructive led the bank to establish an environmental fund (1990) providing low-interest loans for developing countries. Developing nations have complained that the IBRD imposes the free-market system on them, thereby discouraging planning, nationalization, and public investment.

Bibliography

See the World Bank's publication, World Bank Operations: Sectoral Programs and Policies (1972); E. S. Mason and R. E. Asher, The World Bank since Bretton Woods (1973); C. Payer, The World Bank: A Critical Analysis (1982); S. Please, The Hobbled Giant: Essays on the World Bank (1984).

Wikipedia: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Top

IBRD loans and IDA credits in 2005

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is one of five institutions that comprise the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means of financing states. Its operation is maintained through payments as regulated by member states. It came into existence on December 27, 1945 following international ratification of the agreements reached at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference of July 1 to July 22, 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.

The IBRD provides loans to governments, and public enterprises, always with a government (or "sovereign") guarantee of repayment subject to general conditions (pdf). The funds for this lending come primarily from the issuing of World Bank bonds on the global capital markets—typically $12–15 billion per year. These bonds are rated AAA (the highest possible) because they are backed by member states' share capital, as well as by borrowers' sovereign guarantees. (In addition, loans that are repaid are recycled, or relent.) Because of the IBRD's credit rating, it is able to borrow at relatively low interest rates. As most developing countries have considerably lower credit ratings, the IBRD can lend to countries at interest rates that are usually quite attractive to them, even after adding a small margin (about 1%) to cover administrative overheads.

History

Commencing operations on June 25, 1946, it approved its first loan on May 9, 1947 ($250m to France for postwar reconstruction, in real terms the largest loan issued by the Bank to date).

The IBRD was established mainly as a vehicle for reconstruction of Europe and Japan after World War II, with an additional mandate to foster economic growth in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Originally the bank focused mainly on large-scale infrastructure projects, building highways, airports, and powerplants. As Japan and its European client countries "graduated" (achieved certain levels of income per capita), the IBRD became focused entirely on developing countries. Since the early 1990s the IBRD has also provided financing to the post-Socialist states of Eastern Europe and the republics of the former Soviet Union.

External links

Central banks

Global

Bank for International Settlements · Financial Stability Board · Basel Committee on Banking Supervision

By continent

Africa	Central Bank of West African States · Bank of Central African States · Bank of Algeria · Central Bank of Angola · Bank of Botswana · Bank of the Republic of Burundi · Bank of Cape Verde · Central Bank of the Comoros · Central Bank of the Congo · Central Bank of Djibouti · Central Bank of Egypt · Bank of Eritrea · National Bank of Ethiopia · Central Bank of The Gambia · Bank of Ghana · Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea · Central Bank of Kenya · Central Bank of Lesotho · Central Bank of Liberia · Central Bank of Libya · Bank Al-Maghrib (Morocco) · Bank of Namibia · Central Bank of Nigeria · South African Reserve Bank · Bank of Tanzania · Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

Americas	Central Bank of Argentina · Central Bank of Barbados · Central Bank of Brazil · Bank of Canada · Central Bank of Chile · Eastern Caribbean Central Bank · Bank of Mexico · Central Bank of Nicaragua · Bank of the Republic · Central Reserve Bank of Peru · Federal Reserve System (United States) · Central Bank of Venezuela · Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago

Oceania	Reserve Bank of Australia · Reserve Bank of Fiji · Reserve Bank of New Zealand · Bank of Papua New Guinea · Central Bank of Samoa · Central Bank of Solomon Islands · National Reserve Bank of Tonga

Asia	Central Bank of Bahrain · Bangladesh Bank · Brunei Currency and Monetary Board · People's Bank of China · Reserve Bank of India · Central Bank of Iran · Central Bank of Iraq · Bank of Israel · Bank Indonesia · Bank of Japan · National Bank of Kazakhstan · National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic · Bank of Korea · Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea · Central Bank of Kuwait · Banque du Liban · Central Bank of Malaysia · Bank of Mongolia · Central Bank of Oman · State Bank of Pakistan · Central Bank of the Philippines · Qatar Central Bank · Monetary Authority of Singapore · Central Bank of Syria · Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) · Bank of Thailand · Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates · Central Bank of Uzbekistan · State Bank of Vietnam · Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Europe	European Central Bank (Eurozone) · Bank of Abkhazia · Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bank of Albania · Bulgarian National Bank · Croatian National Bank · Czech National Bank · Bank of England · Bank of Estonia · Hungarian National Bank · National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia · Central Bank of Kosovo · Polish National Bank · National Bank of Romania · Central Bank of Russia · Central Bank of Montenegro · National Bank of Serbia · Swiss National Bank · Central Bank of Turkey · National Bank of Ukraine

Policies and implementation

Policies	Expansionary monetary policy · Contractionary monetary policy · Capital requirement

Implementation	Open market operations · Capital control · Discount rate · Money creation · Interest rates · Sovereign wealth fund

Bretton Woods system

World Bank · International Monetary Fund · International Bank for Reconstruction and Development · International Finance Corporation · International Development Association · Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency · International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

List of central banks Names in italics indicate non-sovereign (dependent) territories and/or former countries.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Donate to Wikimedia

Copyrights:

		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Banking Dictionary. Dictionary of Banking Terms. Copyright © 2006 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "International Bank for Reconstruction and Development". Read more

	IBRD (abbreviation)
	Colts (finance term)
	Bretton Woods Conference

	What is the more common name for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development? Read answer...
	What does knowing how to understand and reconstruct the past help readers develop? Read answer...
	Where can you get a finance degree in international banking? Read answer...

	Can you invest in bonds from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development?
	What is the function and significance of the international bank for reconstructionand development in the world bank?
	How can a bank increase internal savings mobilization for national development?