World Bank

The World Bank has unveiled the first details of how it will spend the first slice of its planned $200bn of investments to help poor countries cope with climate change, with $22.5bn aimed at helping African nations.

World Bank raised $4.5bn of five year bonds on Tuesday with its first dollar benchmark of the year. Municipality Finance (MuniFin) joined it at the tenor a day later, but this is widely expected to be SSA issuers’ last hurrah in the currency for a few weeks.

World Bank launched a $4.5bn five year trade on Tuesday in its first dollar benchmark of 2019, confounding some bankers who had expected this week to be populated with smaller transactions.

Kommunekredit, Kommunalbanken (KBN) and World Bank hit screens for dollar deals on Monday, as bankers said that this week offers a decent window for issuance in the US currency.

Lebanese investment banker Ziad Hayek set out his programme for running the World Bank this week, as the process for selecting the president of the world’s biggest development lender fell into a mire of confusion. In an interview with GlobalCapital, Hayek said his pitch to World Bank shareholders focused on migration, infrastructure finance, climate change, and co-operation with China. By Phil Thornton.

Taps in Oceanic currencies flowed freely this week as two supranationals raised funds in the Kangaroo and Kauri markets.

The World Bank is beefing up its communications operations in Europe, a region with mainly donors rather than recipients. It wants to ensure that it is getting its message out to the people who ultimately fund its work.

Following strong interest in Kauri bonds on the secondary market from Asian investors, the World Bank moved into a lagging primary market on Tuesday for a NZ$450m ($306m) increase of a January 2024 issue. Bankers feel that this could potentially jump start the quiet market.

David Malpass, US candidate for the World Bank presidency, has serious weaknesses and lacks experience, according to a former chief economist at the multilateral lender.

A Lebanese former investment banker and advocate of public-private partnerships (PPPs) has been nominated to challenge Donald Trump’s candidate for the role of president of the World Bank Group.

The International Development Association is preparing a short-term borrowing programme that the issuer told GlobalCapital will be similar in form to the commercial paper offerings of its peers the European Investment Bank and KfW. A second benchmark — likely to be in sterling or a niche currency — or a debut private medium-term note could follow, the borrower added.

No candidate from an emerging or developing country has come forward to challenge US politician David Malpass for the presidency of the World Bank Group.