Ajay Banga confirmed as next World Bank president

The World Bank’s 25-member executive board has elected former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to a five-year term as president effective June 2.

Banga, 63, was nominated for the post by US President Joe Biden in late February and was the sole contender to replace departing World Bank chief David Malpass.

An Indian-born finance and development expert takes center stage at the World Bank. Banga would have to revamp the multilateral lender to tackle climate change and other global crises.