WASHINGTON: The World Bank confirmed on Thursday that senior US Treasury official David Malpass was the lone candidate nominated to take over the helm of the development aid institution.

Nominations closed on Thursday morning, and the World Bank board said it will conduct a formal interview and make a decision before the Spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, which are to be held April 12-14.

The surprise early departure of World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Feb 1, not even halfway through his second five-year term, gave US President Donald Trump the opportunity to put his stamp on the organisation.

Malpass, a 62-year-old Treasury official in charge of international affairs, has been a strident critic of the international financial institutions, calling their lending practices “corrupt” and complaining about aid to China and other relatively more well-off countries that he says should have graduated from the institutions.

The World Bank has been led by American men since its founding in the aftermath of World War II, while its sister institution, the IMF has always been led by a European.

In recent years, the growing emerging market countries have challenged this unwritten arrangement, demanding a more open, merit-based selection process.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2019