Written by: Katie Scott, business reporter Brainz Magazine
The Biden administration has announced its nominee for the role of president of the World Bank and it is a former Mastercard executive.
Ajay Banga is currently Vice Chairman of the private equity firm General Atlantic; and has been singled out for his “...critical experience mobilising public-private resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change,” said President Biden.
The nominations will be considered by the bank’s board, but, reports The Washington Post, “ …as the bank’s largest shareholder, the United States has typically chosen its leader”.
Banga ran Mastercard for more than ten years and in this time, the company’s revenue more than tripled. In this time, the company launched an initiative - with nine other major financial companies - to plant 100 million trees over five years. Banga also headed up the company’s bid to reach net-zero emissions. Before his time at Mastercard, Banga worked at Nestlé's India operations, Pepsico and Citibank.
However, environmental organisations, amongst them Friends of the Earth, have criticised the nomination arguing that Banga is too closely aligned with US corporations to put the planet first. “Banga has no background in public service, mitigating climate change, promoting sustainable agriculture, reducing poverty or supporting just energy transitions,” Kate DeAngelis, international finance program manager for Friends of the Earth, told The Washington Post. “He represents US corporations rather than the needs of eight billion people around the world.”
The current president, David Malpass, will be stepping down from his position by 30th June, 2023.
