AMN/ WEB DESK

Indian American Ajay Banga took over as the President of the World Bank on Friday, making him the first person of colour to head either of the two global financial institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

On May 3, the Executive Directors of the World Bank selected Banga, 63, as the 14th President of the World Bank for a five-year term. In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would nominate Banga to lead the World Bank.

Banga has become the first-ever Indian-American to head the World Bank. He replaces David Malpass, who announced his decision to step down in February.

On Thursday, a media release said that Treasury Yellen met with Banga at the Treasury Department. During their engagement, Yellen warmly welcomed Banga’s upcoming presidency and conveyed her strong desire for the Treasury to continue close collaboration with him in building on the strong progress made so far on evolving multilateral development banks.