, gained traction with leading members on Friday, February 24, a sign that he will likely have a smooth ride to confirmation by the global lender’s executive board.
“I look forward to meeting the candidate to give a final response to this candidacy. But I think he’s a very good one.” The comments marked a turnabout from Tuesday, February 21, when Germany’s international development minister, Svenja Schulze, who represents a different party in Germany’s coalition government, said the next World Bank chief should be a woman.India’s finance ministry has not made an official comment on the nomination of Banga, an Indian-born US citizen, which played prominently in Indian media on Friday.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she did not know whether there would be other nominees for the job, but said Washington moved quickly with a well-qualified candidate to ensure that tradition would continue. But with the United States and European countries supporting Banga, along with some key emerging markets, a challenger would have almost no chance of succeeding and would represent a largely symbolic effort to protest what is seen by many countries and stakeholders as a non-transparent selection process stacked for too long in Washington’s favor.
Banga’s nomination won praise from the US Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest trade association, calling him “the right choice in steering [the bank] to greater impact, efficiency, and agility.”