WASHINGTON: World Bank President David Malpass will step down at the end of June after more than four years leading the multilateral development bank “to pursue new challenges”, Malpass and the bank said on Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear why Malpass, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump, would depart with less than a year before the end of a five-year term.

“Having made much progress, and after a good deal of thought, I’ve decided to pursue new challenges,” Malpass said in a statement.

Malpass took up the World Bank helm in April 2019 after serving as the top official for international affairs at US Treasury in the Trump administration.

Last autumn he came under fire by the White House after he declined to say he supported the scientific consensus on climate change. He later apologised and reiterated his view that human activity contributes to climate change.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2023