Trump Nominates David Malpass To Head World Bank

President Trump has nominated Treasury Department official David Malpass, a vocal critic of the World Bank, to head the international financial institution.

Malpass, 62, is a conservative with longstanding ties to Trump. He once worked as chief economist at investment bank Bear Stearns, which collapsed in 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis. He also served in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. At Treasury, Malpass is currently involved in tense trade negotiations with China.

If approved by the countries that control the World Bank’s governing board, which is considered likely, Malpass would replace Jim Yong Kim, who announced his resignation in January and stepped down before his term ended. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, led the search for Kim’s successor and recommended Malpass.

The Washington-based World Bank, which is controlled by the world’s richest countries, lends money to emerging economies for infrastructure and development. Malpass has frequently complained about corruption and mismanagement at the agency.

“The World Bank’s biggest borrower is China. Well, China has plenty of resources, and it doesn’t make sense to have money borrowed in the U.S., using the U.S. government guarantee, going into lending in China for a country that’s gotten other resources and access to capital markets,” he told the Council on Foreign Relations in November 2017.