International Bank Of Reconstruction And Development - IBRD

The International Bank of Reconstruction and Development is a development bank, administered by the World Bank, that offers financial products and policy advice countries aiming to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. The International Bank of Reconstruction and Development is a cooperative owned by 189 member countries

The International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is one of the two major institutions that make up the World Bank, with the other being the International Development Association, a financial institution dedicated to making developmental loans to the world’s poorest countries. The IBRD was founded in 1944 with the goal of helping war-torn European countries rebuild their infrastructure and their economies.

Following the recovery from World War Two, the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development broadened its mandate to increasing global economic growth and eliminating poverty. Today, the IBRD focuses its services on middle-income countries, or countries where the per capita income ranges from $1,026 to $12,475 per year. These countries, like Indonesia, India, and Thailand, are often home to fast-growing economies that attract a lot of foreign investment and large infrastructure building projects. At the same time, middle income countries are home to 70 percent of the world’s poor people, as the benefits of this economic growth are unevenly distributed across their populations. The success of middle income countries is precarious, as many economies that look promising collapse under the weight of corruption and economic mismanagement. 

The goal of the the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development is to provide financing and economic policy advice to help the leaders of middle-income countries navigate the path toward greater prosperity. It will often help finance infrastructure projects that grow a country’s economic potential, while helping governments manage public finances and cultivate the confidence of foreign investors. 

The IBRD was founded in anticipation of the end of World War Two, during the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944, a gathering of the 44 Allied Nations of the Second World War meant to establish the post-war global financial order. Along with establishing a new global monetary policy regime, the Bretton Woods Conference was also where the International Monetary Fund and the IBRD were formed. The first loan ever issued by the International Bank Of Reconstruction And Development was to the government of France, to help finance the reconstruction of critical infrastructure. Following the reconstruction of Europe, the IBRD shifted its focus to promoting economic development in other parts of the world.