Jim Yong Kim named World Bank President

U.S. nominee Jim Yong Kim was chosen as the next World Bank President on Monday, edging out Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.  This was the first time a U.S. nominee has been challenged.  Jim Yong Kim was born in South Korea and immigrated to the U.S. at age five, he is currently the 17th president of Dartmouth College, the first Asian-American to be named president of an Ivy League Institution.  His victory in the nomination was widely expected because over half of the shares come from the U.S. or Canada. 

The purpose of the World Bank is to provide loans to developing countries for capital programs.  It was created during the Breton Woods conference in 1944.  Often times the role of the World Bank is confused with the role the International Monetary Fund.  As stated earlier the World Bank goal is to reduce poverty in developing nations while the IMF stabilizes exchange rates and makes financial resources (capital mostly) for countries that meet the balance of payments needs.