The US economy should continue to grow despite the crisis in the banking sector. This is Janet Yellen’s forecast, which anticipates a drop in inflation. In an interview with AFP, the US Treasury Secretary also gave a taste of the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank next week. According to Janet Yellen, who has been advocating for a modernization of the system for months, the reform of the World Bank will bring an additional fifty billion dollars over ten years.
Fifty billion dollars over ten years is not nothing: such an amount would represent, underlines Janet Yellen “ a 20% increase in the sustainable lending level of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) , a subsidiary of the World Bank. The US Treasury Secretary, however, does not specify by what mechanism the Washington institution will extend its financial capacity. In recent months, the idea of a possible capital increase and work on instruments to mobilize more private funds have been mentioned.
Dusting
Beyond the amounts, the World Bank should begin to dust off its mission. Must be added to this, says Janet Yellen, who has been advocating for this for months already: “ Building resilience ” facing ” climate change “, to ” pandemics » and to « Conflicts “. The operational model of the Bank, which will celebrate its 80th anniversary next year, should also be updated. This includes ” integrating global challenges into diagnostic tools and country partnership strategies “.
Reform process
These spring meetings should be only the beginning of a process of reforms launched in October 2023. With the departure of its president, David Malpass, by the end of June, the Biden administration hopes to accelerate. Appointed during the mandate of Donald Trump, he has often been criticized for not taking enough account of climate change.
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