World Bank
Affiliated with the United Nations, the World Bank was formally established in 1946 to finance projects to spur the economic development of member nations, most notably those in Europe and the Third World. The bank has been strongly criticized by environmental and human rights groups in recent years for funding Third World projects that destroy rain forests, damage the environment, and harm villagers and indigenous peoples.
The bank is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is administered by a board of governors and a group of executive directors. The board of governors is composed principally of the world's finance ministers and convenes annually. There are 21 executive directors who carry out policy matters and approve all loans. The World Bank usually makes loans directly to governments or to private enterprises with their government's guarantee when private capital is not available on reasonable terms. Generally, the Bank lends only for imported materials and equipment and services obtained from abroad. The interest rate charged depends primarily on the cost of borrowing to the Bank. The subscribed capital of the bank exceeds $30 billion, and the voting power of each nation is proportional to its capital subscription.
The 1970s represented a period of extensive growth for the World Bank, both in the volume of lending and the size of its staff.
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