U.S. Treasury Secretary expects Banga to be elected World Bank president

WASHINGTON Reuters -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she expected the U.S. nominee to head the World Bank, former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, to be elected president of the multilateral development bank.

In testimony prepared for the House Appropriations Committee, Yellen said that Banga would be charged with helping the institution address new challenges in the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs subcommittee.

This evolution will help the Bank deliver its vital poverty alleviation and development goals, Yellen told lawmakers who control the Treasury Department's purse strings.

Banga, 63, recently completed a three-week world tour to meet government leaders, civil society groups and others in borrowing and donor countries, as he campaigned for the bank's top post.

In late February, President Joe Biden nominated the Indian-born finance and development executive, who is a U.S. citizen.

He has won the support of enough other governments to assure his confirmation as World Bank President, including India, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

No competitors have been announced yet, and the World Bank will accept nominations from other countries until March 29. Since its founding at the end of World War Two, the World Bank has been led by an American, while the International Monetary Fund has been led by a European.

The bank's board hopes to elect a new leader by early May.

The bank's current president, David Malpass, was nominated by former President Donald Trump. He announced his resignation in February after months of controversy over his initial failure to say he backed the scientific consensus on climate change.