As the biggest shareholder, the United States has sway over the selection of the new World Bank president, a post for 75 years always filled by an American, with the backing of European nations. “This White House has a pretty challenging path ahead if they think they want to install a candidate,” said Scott Morris, a former US Treasury official who worked with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announces resignationThe unspoken agreement to have an American lead the World Bank and a European at the IMF has come under fire in recent years, and both institutions have seen candidates from Nigeria and Mexico challenge the current leaders. And given a “very unpopular” American president, there are certain to be challengers in the process to replace Kim, said Morris, of the Center for Global Development. But since the US has not even named a representative to sit on the World Bank board, it remains to be seen whether Trump will want to fight for the leadership.

Source: The Express Tribune January 08, 2019 12:45 UTC