The World Bank yesterday won the first general increase in its capital since 1988 in return for a shift of voting power towards emerging markets.
A package put to ministers at the World Bank's meetings in Washington yesterday increased the bank's $11bn (€8.2bn, £7.1bn) paid-in capital by $5.1bn in return for reforms to voting rights, which would mainly see a transfer of votes from smaller European countries to emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil.
The decision completes a campaign begun last year by Robert Zoellick, the bank's president, to increase its capital in response to the global financial crisis. The bank increased lending by $100bn to combat the effects of the crisis on poor countries, helping to overcome the scepticism of countries such as France and the US. “This is a once-in-a-generation request to address the impact of a once-in-a-generation crisis,” Mr Zoellick said.