A commercial bank is a type of financial intermediary and a type of bank. Commercial banking is also known as business banking. It is a bank that provides checking accounts, savings accounts, and money market accounts and that accepts time deposits.After the Great Depression, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S. law, some use the term "commercial bank" to refer to a bank or a division of a bank primarily dealing with deposits and loans from corporations or large businesses. In some other jurisdictions, the strict separation of investment and commercial banking never applied. Commercial banking may also be seen as distinct from retail banking, which involves the provision of financial services direct to consumers. Many banks offer both commercial and retail banking services.
Possible meanings
Commercial bank has two possible meanings:
Commercial bank is the term used for a normal bank to distinguish it from an investment bank.
This is what people normally call a "bank". The term "commercial" was used to distinguish it from an investment bank. Since the two types of banks no longer have to be separate companies, some have used the term "commercial bank" to refer to banks that focus mainly on companies. In some English-speaking countries outside North America, the term "trading bank" was and is used to denote a commercial bank. During the great depression and after the stock market crash of 1929, the U.S. Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Act 1933-35 (Khambata 1996) requiring that commercial banks engage only in banking activities (accepting deposits and making loans, as well as other fee based services), whereas investment banks were limited to capital markets activities. This separation is no longer mandatory.
It raises funds by collecting deposits from businesses and consumers via cheakable deposits, savings deoposits, and time (or term) deposits. It makes loans to businesses and consumers. It also buys corporate bonds and government bonds. Its primary liabilities are deposits and primary assets are loans and bonds.
Commercial banking can also refer to a bank or a division of a bank that mostly deals with deposits and loans from corporations or large businesses, as opposed to normal individual members of the public (retial banking).
Origin of the word
The name bank derives from the Italian word banco "desk/bench", used during the Renaissance by Florantine bankers, who used to make their transactions above a desk covered by a green tablecloth.However, traces of banking activity can found even in ancient times.
In fact, the word traces its origins back to the Ancient Roman Empire, where moneylenders would set up their stalls in the middle of enclosed courtyards called macella on a long bench called a bancu, from which the words banco and bank are derived. As a moneychanger, the merchant at the bancu did not so much invest money as merely convert the foreign currency into the only legal tender in Rome- that of the Imperial Mint.
The role of commercial banks
Commercial banks engage in the following activities:
processing of payments by way of telegraphic transfer, EFTPOS, internet banking, or other means
issuing bank drafts and bank cheques
accepting money on term deposits
lending money by overdraft, installment loan, or other means
providing documentary and standby letter of credit, guarantees, performance bonds, securities underwriting commitments and other forms of off balance sheet exposures
safekeeping of documents and other items in safe deposits boxes
sale, distribution or brokerage, with or without advice, of insurance, unit trusts and similar financial products as a “financial supermarket”
traditionally, large commercial banks also underwrite bonds, and make markets in currency, interest rates, and credit-related securities, but today large commercial banks usually have an investment bank arm that is involved in the mentioned activities.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
World Bank Institute
The World Bank Institute (WBI) creates learning opportunities for countries, World Bank staff and clients, and people committed to poverty reduction and sustainable development. WBI's work program includes training, policy consultations, and the creation and support of knowledge networks related to international economic and social development.
Global Development Learning Network
The Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) is a partnership of over 120 learning centers (GDLN Affiliates) in nearly 80 countries around the world. GDLN Affiliates collaborate in holding events that connect people across countries and regions for learning and dialogue on development issues.
GDLN clients are typically NGOs, government, private sector and development agencies who find that they work better together on subregional, regional or global development issues using the facilities and tools offered by GDLN Affiliates. Clients also benefit from the ability of Affiliates to help them choose and apply these tools effectively, and to tap development practitioners and experts worldwide. GDLN Affiliates facilitate around 1000 videoconference-based activities a year on behalf of their clients, reaching some 90,000 people worldwide. Most of these activities bring together participants in two or more countries over a series of sessions. A majority of GDLN activities are organized by small government agencies and NGOs.
GDLN Asia Pacific
The GDLN in the East Asia and Pacific region has experienced rapid growth and Distance Learning Centers now operate, or are planned in 20 countries: Australia, Mongolia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Japan, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Thailand, Laos, Timor Leste, Fiji, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and New Zealand. With over 180 Distance Learning Centers, it is the largest development learning network in the Asia and Pacific region. The Secretariat Office of GDLN Asia Pacific is located in the Center of Academic Resources of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
GDLN Asia Pacific was launched at the GDLN’s East Asia and Pacific regional meeting held in Bangkok from 22 to 24 May 2006. Its vision is to become “the premier network exchanging ideas, experience and know-how across the Asia Pacific Region”. GDLN Asia Pacific is a separate entity to The World Bank. It has endorsed its own Charter and Business Plan and, in accordance with the Charter, a GDLN Asia Pacific Governing Committee has been appointed.
The committee comprises China (2), Australia (1), Thailand (1), The World Bank (1) and finally, a nominee of the Government of Japan (1). The organization is currently hosted by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, founding member of the GDLN Asia Pacific.
The Governing Committee has determined that the most appropriate legal status for the GDLN AP in Thailand is a “Foundation”. The World Bank is currently engaging a solicitor in Thailand to process all documentation in order to obtain this legal status.
GDLN Asia Pacific is built on the principle of shared resources among partners engaged in a common task, and this is visible in the organizational structures that exist, as the network evolves. Physical space for its headquarters is provided by the host of the GDLN Centre in Thailand – Chulalongkorn University; Technical expertise and some infrastructure is provided by the Tokyo Development Learning Centre (TDLC); Fiduciary services are provided by Australian National University (ANU) Until the GDLN Asia Pacific is established as a legal entity tin Thailand, ANU, has offered to assist the governing committee, by providing a means of managing the inflow and outflow of funds and of reporting on them. This admittedly results in some complexity in contracting arrangements, which need to be worked out on a case by case basis and depends to some extent on the legal requirements of the countries involved.
Global Development Learning Network
The Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) is a partnership of over 120 learning centers (GDLN Affiliates) in nearly 80 countries around the world. GDLN Affiliates collaborate in holding events that connect people across countries and regions for learning and dialogue on development issues.
GDLN clients are typically NGOs, government, private sector and development agencies who find that they work better together on subregional, regional or global development issues using the facilities and tools offered by GDLN Affiliates. Clients also benefit from the ability of Affiliates to help them choose and apply these tools effectively, and to tap development practitioners and experts worldwide. GDLN Affiliates facilitate around 1000 videoconference-based activities a year on behalf of their clients, reaching some 90,000 people worldwide. Most of these activities bring together participants in two or more countries over a series of sessions. A majority of GDLN activities are organized by small government agencies and NGOs.
GDLN Asia Pacific
The GDLN in the East Asia and Pacific region has experienced rapid growth and Distance Learning Centers now operate, or are planned in 20 countries: Australia, Mongolia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Japan, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Thailand, Laos, Timor Leste, Fiji, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and New Zealand. With over 180 Distance Learning Centers, it is the largest development learning network in the Asia and Pacific region. The Secretariat Office of GDLN Asia Pacific is located in the Center of Academic Resources of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
GDLN Asia Pacific was launched at the GDLN’s East Asia and Pacific regional meeting held in Bangkok from 22 to 24 May 2006. Its vision is to become “the premier network exchanging ideas, experience and know-how across the Asia Pacific Region”. GDLN Asia Pacific is a separate entity to The World Bank. It has endorsed its own Charter and Business Plan and, in accordance with the Charter, a GDLN Asia Pacific Governing Committee has been appointed.
The committee comprises China (2), Australia (1), Thailand (1), The World Bank (1) and finally, a nominee of the Government of Japan (1). The organization is currently hosted by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, founding member of the GDLN Asia Pacific.
The Governing Committee has determined that the most appropriate legal status for the GDLN AP in Thailand is a “Foundation”. The World Bank is currently engaging a solicitor in Thailand to process all documentation in order to obtain this legal status.
GDLN Asia Pacific is built on the principle of shared resources among partners engaged in a common task, and this is visible in the organizational structures that exist, as the network evolves. Physical space for its headquarters is provided by the host of the GDLN Centre in Thailand – Chulalongkorn University; Technical expertise and some infrastructure is provided by the Tokyo Development Learning Centre (TDLC); Fiduciary services are provided by Australian National University (ANU) Until the GDLN Asia Pacific is established as a legal entity tin Thailand, ANU, has offered to assist the governing committee, by providing a means of managing the inflow and outflow of funds and of reporting on them. This admittedly results in some complexity in contracting arrangements, which need to be worked out on a case by case basis and depends to some extent on the legal requirements of the countries involved.
Poverty reduction strategies By Wold Bank
For the poorest developing countries in the world the bank’s assistance plans are based on poverty reduction strategies; by combining a cross-section of local groups with an extensive analysis of the country’s financial and economical situation the World Bank develops a strategy pertaining uniquely to the country in question. The government then identifies the country’s priorities and targets for the reduction of poverty, and the World Bank aligns its aid efforts correspondingly.
The bank supports certain kinds of poor people's organisations such as the Self-Employed Women's Union and Shack/Slum Dwellers International.
Forty-five countries pledged Us dollar25.1 billion in "aid for the world's poorest countries", aid that goes to the World Bank International Development Association (IDA) which distributes the gifts to eighty poorer countries. While wealthier nations sometimes fund their own aid projects, including those for diseases, and although IDA is the recipient of criticism, Robert B. Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, said when the gifts were announced on December15, 2007, that IDA money "is the core funding that the poorest developing countries rely on
Clean Technology Fund management
The World Bank has been assigned temporary management responsibility of the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), focused on making renewble energy cost-competitive with coal-fired power as quickly as possible, but this may not continue after UN's Copenhagen climate change conference in December, 2009, because of the Bank's continued investment in coal-fired power plant
Country assistance strategies
As a guideline to the World Bank's operations in any particular country, a Country Assistance Strategy is produced, in cooperation with the local government and any interested stakeholders and may rely on analytical work performed by the Bank or other parties.
Knowledge Production
The World Bank has been critiqued for the manner in which it engages in “the production, accumulation, circulation, and functioning” of knowledge. The Bank’s process in the production of knowledge has become integral to the funding and justification of large capital projects . The Bank relies on “a growing network of translocal scientists, technocrats, NGOs, and empowered citizens to help generate data and construct discursive strategies”. Its capacity to produce authoritative knowledge is a response to intense scrutiny of Bank projects resulting from the successes of growing anti-Bank and alternative-development movements.“Development has relied exclusively on one knowledge system, namely, the modern Western one. The dominance of this knowledge system has dictated the marginalization and disqualification of non-Western knowledge systems”. It has been remarked, that in these alternative knowledge systems researchers and activists might find alternative rationales to guide interventionist action away from Western (Bank) produced ways of thinking . Knowledge production has become an asset to the Bank and “it is generated and used in highly strategic ways”to provide justifications for development.
The bank supports certain kinds of poor people's organisations such as the Self-Employed Women's Union and Shack/Slum Dwellers International.
Forty-five countries pledged Us dollar25.1 billion in "aid for the world's poorest countries", aid that goes to the World Bank International Development Association (IDA) which distributes the gifts to eighty poorer countries. While wealthier nations sometimes fund their own aid projects, including those for diseases, and although IDA is the recipient of criticism, Robert B. Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, said when the gifts were announced on December15, 2007, that IDA money "is the core funding that the poorest developing countries rely on
Clean Technology Fund management
The World Bank has been assigned temporary management responsibility of the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), focused on making renewble energy cost-competitive with coal-fired power as quickly as possible, but this may not continue after UN's Copenhagen climate change conference in December, 2009, because of the Bank's continued investment in coal-fired power plant
Country assistance strategies
As a guideline to the World Bank's operations in any particular country, a Country Assistance Strategy is produced, in cooperation with the local government and any interested stakeholders and may rely on analytical work performed by the Bank or other parties.
Knowledge Production
The World Bank has been critiqued for the manner in which it engages in “the production, accumulation, circulation, and functioning” of knowledge. The Bank’s process in the production of knowledge has become integral to the funding and justification of large capital projects . The Bank relies on “a growing network of translocal scientists, technocrats, NGOs, and empowered citizens to help generate data and construct discursive strategies”. Its capacity to produce authoritative knowledge is a response to intense scrutiny of Bank projects resulting from the successes of growing anti-Bank and alternative-development movements.“Development has relied exclusively on one knowledge system, namely, the modern Western one. The dominance of this knowledge system has dictated the marginalization and disqualification of non-Western knowledge systems”. It has been remarked, that in these alternative knowledge systems researchers and activists might find alternative rationales to guide interventionist action away from Western (Bank) produced ways of thinking . Knowledge production has become an asset to the Bank and “it is generated and used in highly strategic ways”to provide justifications for development.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Comprehensive development framework
According to the World Bank, in virtually all successful assistance projects the country itself was the driving factor. The Bank therefore works to help governments lead and implement their own development strategies and thus take a stronger hand in their own future development. The strategy was initiated by the former president of the bank, James Wolfensohn. Since 1999, it has followed a set of philosophies known as the Comprehensive Development Framework. These philosophies state that:
Development strategies should be comprehensive and shaped by a long-term vision
Development goals and strategies should be “owned” by the country, based on local stakeholder participation in shaping them
Countries receiving assistance should lead the management and coordination of aid programs through stakeholder partnerships
Development performance should be evaluated through measurable results on the ground in order to adjust the strategy to outcomes and a changing world
Poverty reduction strategies
For the poorest developing countries in the world the bank’s assistance plans are based on poverty reduction strategies; by combining a cross-section of local groups with an extensive analysis of the country’s financial and economical situation the World Bank develops a strategy pertaining uniquely to the country in question. The government then identifies the country’s priorities and targets for the reduction of poverty, and the World Bank aligns its aid efforts correspondingly.
The bank supports certain kinds of poor people's organisations such as the Self-Employed Women's Union and Shack/Slum Dwellers International.
Forty-five countries pledged US dollers 25.1 billion in "aid for the world's poorest countries", aid that goes to the World Bank International Development Association (IDA) which distributes the gifts to eighty poorer countries. While wealthier nations sometimes fund their own aid projects, including those for diseases, and although IDA is the recipient of criticism, Robert B. Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, said when the gifts were announced on December 15, 2007, that IDA money "is the core funding that the poorest developing countries rely on".
Clean Technology Fund management
The World Bank has been assigned temporary management responsibility of the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), focused on making renewable energy cost-competitive with coal-fired power as quickly as possible, but this may not continue after UN's Copenhagen climate change conference in December, 2009, because of the Bank's continued investment in coal-fired power plant
Development strategies should be comprehensive and shaped by a long-term vision
Development goals and strategies should be “owned” by the country, based on local stakeholder participation in shaping them
Countries receiving assistance should lead the management and coordination of aid programs through stakeholder partnerships
Development performance should be evaluated through measurable results on the ground in order to adjust the strategy to outcomes and a changing world
Poverty reduction strategies
For the poorest developing countries in the world the bank’s assistance plans are based on poverty reduction strategies; by combining a cross-section of local groups with an extensive analysis of the country’s financial and economical situation the World Bank develops a strategy pertaining uniquely to the country in question. The government then identifies the country’s priorities and targets for the reduction of poverty, and the World Bank aligns its aid efforts correspondingly.
The bank supports certain kinds of poor people's organisations such as the Self-Employed Women's Union and Shack/Slum Dwellers International.
Forty-five countries pledged US dollers 25.1 billion in "aid for the world's poorest countries", aid that goes to the World Bank International Development Association (IDA) which distributes the gifts to eighty poorer countries. While wealthier nations sometimes fund their own aid projects, including those for diseases, and although IDA is the recipient of criticism, Robert B. Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, said when the gifts were announced on December 15, 2007, that IDA money "is the core funding that the poorest developing countries rely on".
Clean Technology Fund management
The World Bank has been assigned temporary management responsibility of the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), focused on making renewable energy cost-competitive with coal-fired power as quickly as possible, but this may not continue after UN's Copenhagen climate change conference in December, 2009, because of the Bank's continued investment in coal-fired power plant
Activities of World Bank
Millennium Development Goals
The World Bank's current focus is on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), lending primarily to "middle-income countries" at interest rates which reflect a small mark-up over its own (AAA-rated) borrowings from capital markets; while the IDA provides low or no interest loans and grants to low income countries with little or no access to international credit markets. The IBRD is a market-based nonprofit organization, using its high credit rating to make up for the relatively low interest rate on its loans, while the IDA is funded primarily by periodic "replenishments" (grants) voted to the institution by its more affluent member countries.
Five key factors
The Bank’s mission is to aid developing countries and their inhabitants to achieve development and the reduction of poverty, including achievement of the MDGs, by helping countries develop an environment for investment, jobs and sustainable growth, thus promoting economic growth through investment and enabling the poor to share the fruits of economic growth. The World Bank sees the five key factors necessary for economic growth and the creation of an enabling business environment as:
Build capacity: Strengthening governments and educating government officials.
Infrastructure creation: implementation of legal and judicial systems for the encouragement of business, the protection of individual and property rights and the honoring of contracts.
Development of Financial Systems: the establishment of strong systems capable of supporting endeavors from micro credit to the financing of larger corporate ventures.
Combating corruption: Support for countries' efforts at eradicating corruption.
Research, Consultancy and Training: the World Bank provides platform for research on development issues, consultancy and conduct training programs (web based, on line, tele-/ video conferencing and class room based) open for those who are interested from academia, students, government and non-governmental organization (NGO) officers etc.
The Bank obtains funding for its operations primarily through the IBRD’s sale of AAA-rated bonds in the world’s financial markets. The IBRD’s income is generated from its lending activities, with its borrowings leveraging its own paid-in capital, plus the investment of its "float". The IDA obtains the majority of its funds from forty donor countries who replenish the bank’s funds every three years, and from loan repayments, which then become available for re-lending.
Grants
The World Bank also distributes grants for the facilitation of development projects through the encouragement of innovation, cooperation between organizations, and the participation of local stakeholders in projects. IDA grants are predominantly used for:
Debt burden relief in the most indebted and poverty-stricken countries
Improvement of sanitation and water supply
Support of vaccination and immunization programs for the reduction of communicable diseases such as malaria
Combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic
Support of civil society organizations
Creating initiatives for the reduction of greenhouse gases
Other services
The Bank not only provides financial support to its member states, but also analytical and advisory services to facilitate the implementation of the lasting economic and social improvements that are needed in many under-developed countries, as well as educating members with the knowledge necessary to resolve their development problems while promoting.
The World Bank's current focus is on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), lending primarily to "middle-income countries" at interest rates which reflect a small mark-up over its own (AAA-rated) borrowings from capital markets; while the IDA provides low or no interest loans and grants to low income countries with little or no access to international credit markets. The IBRD is a market-based nonprofit organization, using its high credit rating to make up for the relatively low interest rate on its loans, while the IDA is funded primarily by periodic "replenishments" (grants) voted to the institution by its more affluent member countries.
Five key factors
The Bank’s mission is to aid developing countries and their inhabitants to achieve development and the reduction of poverty, including achievement of the MDGs, by helping countries develop an environment for investment, jobs and sustainable growth, thus promoting economic growth through investment and enabling the poor to share the fruits of economic growth. The World Bank sees the five key factors necessary for economic growth and the creation of an enabling business environment as:
Build capacity: Strengthening governments and educating government officials.
Infrastructure creation: implementation of legal and judicial systems for the encouragement of business, the protection of individual and property rights and the honoring of contracts.
Development of Financial Systems: the establishment of strong systems capable of supporting endeavors from micro credit to the financing of larger corporate ventures.
Combating corruption: Support for countries' efforts at eradicating corruption.
Research, Consultancy and Training: the World Bank provides platform for research on development issues, consultancy and conduct training programs (web based, on line, tele-/ video conferencing and class room based) open for those who are interested from academia, students, government and non-governmental organization (NGO) officers etc.
The Bank obtains funding for its operations primarily through the IBRD’s sale of AAA-rated bonds in the world’s financial markets. The IBRD’s income is generated from its lending activities, with its borrowings leveraging its own paid-in capital, plus the investment of its "float". The IDA obtains the majority of its funds from forty donor countries who replenish the bank’s funds every three years, and from loan repayments, which then become available for re-lending.
Grants
The World Bank also distributes grants for the facilitation of development projects through the encouragement of innovation, cooperation between organizations, and the participation of local stakeholders in projects. IDA grants are predominantly used for:
Debt burden relief in the most indebted and poverty-stricken countries
Improvement of sanitation and water supply
Support of vaccination and immunization programs for the reduction of communicable diseases such as malaria
Combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic
Support of civil society organizations
Creating initiatives for the reduction of greenhouse gases
Other services
The Bank not only provides financial support to its member states, but also analytical and advisory services to facilitate the implementation of the lasting economic and social improvements that are needed in many under-developed countries, as well as educating members with the knowledge necessary to resolve their development problems while promoting.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
World Bank
History
The World Bank is one of two major institutions created as a result of the Bretton Wood Conferrence in 1944. The Internation Monetary Funds, a related but separate institution, is the second. Delegates from a wide variety of countries attended the Bretton Woods Conference, but the most powerful countries in attendance, the United States and United Kingdom, mainly shaped negotiations.
1945–1968
From its conception until 1967 the bank undertook a relatively low level of lending. Fiscal Conservation and careful screening of loan applications was generally accepted practice at the World Bank during this early period. Bank staff attempted to balance the priorities of providing loans for reconstruction and development with the need to instill confidence in the bank as a reliable institution suitable for investment. Bank president John MacCloy selected France to be the first recipient of World Bank aid; two other applications presented at this time from Poland and Chile were rejected. The loan was for $ 987 million, half the amount requested, and came with strict conditions. Staff from the World Bank would monitor the end use of the funds, ensuring that the French government would present a balanced budget, and give priority of debt repayment to the World Bank over other foreign governments. The United States State Department also acted at this time to inform the French Government that Communist elements within the Cabinétte needed to be removed. The French Government complied with this request and removed the Communist elements from the 1947 coalition government. Within hours of this event the loan to France was approved. The Marshall Plan of 1947 caused lending practices at the bank to be altered, as many European countries received aid that competed directly with World Bank loans. Emphasis was shifted to non-European countries and up until 1968 loans were primarily earmarked for projects that would directly enable a borrower country to repay loans (such projects as ports, highway systems, and power plants).
1968–1980
From 1968–1980 the bank focused on poverty alleviation and meeting the basic needs of people in the developing world. During this period the size and number of loans to borrower nations was greatly increased as the spectrum of loan targets expanded from infrastructure into social services and other sectors. These changes can to a large extent be attributed to Robert Macnamara who assumed the Presidency in 1968 after being appointed by US president Lyndon B. Johnson. McNamara imported a technocratic managerial style to the bank that he had employed during periods he had spent serving as United States Secretary of Defence, and President of the Ford Motor Company. McNamara shifted the focus of bank policy towards measures such as building schools and hospitals, improving litracy rates and conducting large-scale agricultural reform. McNamara created a new system of gathering information from potential borrower nations that enabled the bank to process loan applications at a much faster rate. In order to finance the increased loan volume, McNamara tasked bank treasurer Eugene Rotberg to seek out new sources of capital outside of the northern banks that had previously been the primary sources of bank funding. Rotberg utilized the global bond market to greatly increase the amount of capital available to the bank. One consequence of the period of poverty alleviation lending was the rapid rise of third world debt. From 1976–1980 third world debt rose at an average annual rate of 20%
1980–1989
In 1980 A.W Clausen replaced Robert McNamara as World Bank president after being nominated by US President Jimmy Carter. Clausen replaced a large number of bank staffers who had been active during the McNamara era and instituted a new ideological focus in the bank. The replacement of Chief Economist Hollis B.Chenery by Anne Krueger in 1982 marked a notable policy shift at the bank. Krueger was known for her criticism of development funding as well as third world governments as rent-seeking states.
Lending for the purposes of servicing third world debt largely marked the period of 1980–1989. Structural adjustment policies aimed at streamlining the economies of developing nations (largely at the expense of health and social services reductions) were also a large part of World Bank policy during this period. UNICEF reported in the late 1980s that the structural adjustment programs of the World Bank were responsible for the “reduced health, nutritional, and educational levels for tens of millions of children in Asia, Latin America, and Africa”
1989–Present
From 1989 to present, World Bank policy has shifted greatly, largely in response to criticism from a plurality of groups. Environmental groups and NGOs are often now integrated into the lending practices of the bank in order to mitigate the negative results of the previous era that prompted such harsh criticism. Bank projects now explicitly embrace a "green" focus.
The World Bank is one of two major institutions created as a result of the Bretton Wood Conferrence in 1944. The Internation Monetary Funds, a related but separate institution, is the second. Delegates from a wide variety of countries attended the Bretton Woods Conference, but the most powerful countries in attendance, the United States and United Kingdom, mainly shaped negotiations.
1945–1968
From its conception until 1967 the bank undertook a relatively low level of lending. Fiscal Conservation and careful screening of loan applications was generally accepted practice at the World Bank during this early period. Bank staff attempted to balance the priorities of providing loans for reconstruction and development with the need to instill confidence in the bank as a reliable institution suitable for investment. Bank president John MacCloy selected France to be the first recipient of World Bank aid; two other applications presented at this time from Poland and Chile were rejected. The loan was for $ 987 million, half the amount requested, and came with strict conditions. Staff from the World Bank would monitor the end use of the funds, ensuring that the French government would present a balanced budget, and give priority of debt repayment to the World Bank over other foreign governments. The United States State Department also acted at this time to inform the French Government that Communist elements within the Cabinétte needed to be removed. The French Government complied with this request and removed the Communist elements from the 1947 coalition government. Within hours of this event the loan to France was approved. The Marshall Plan of 1947 caused lending practices at the bank to be altered, as many European countries received aid that competed directly with World Bank loans. Emphasis was shifted to non-European countries and up until 1968 loans were primarily earmarked for projects that would directly enable a borrower country to repay loans (such projects as ports, highway systems, and power plants).
1968–1980
From 1968–1980 the bank focused on poverty alleviation and meeting the basic needs of people in the developing world. During this period the size and number of loans to borrower nations was greatly increased as the spectrum of loan targets expanded from infrastructure into social services and other sectors. These changes can to a large extent be attributed to Robert Macnamara who assumed the Presidency in 1968 after being appointed by US president Lyndon B. Johnson. McNamara imported a technocratic managerial style to the bank that he had employed during periods he had spent serving as United States Secretary of Defence, and President of the Ford Motor Company. McNamara shifted the focus of bank policy towards measures such as building schools and hospitals, improving litracy rates and conducting large-scale agricultural reform. McNamara created a new system of gathering information from potential borrower nations that enabled the bank to process loan applications at a much faster rate. In order to finance the increased loan volume, McNamara tasked bank treasurer Eugene Rotberg to seek out new sources of capital outside of the northern banks that had previously been the primary sources of bank funding. Rotberg utilized the global bond market to greatly increase the amount of capital available to the bank. One consequence of the period of poverty alleviation lending was the rapid rise of third world debt. From 1976–1980 third world debt rose at an average annual rate of 20%
1980–1989
In 1980 A.W Clausen replaced Robert McNamara as World Bank president after being nominated by US President Jimmy Carter. Clausen replaced a large number of bank staffers who had been active during the McNamara era and instituted a new ideological focus in the bank. The replacement of Chief Economist Hollis B.Chenery by Anne Krueger in 1982 marked a notable policy shift at the bank. Krueger was known for her criticism of development funding as well as third world governments as rent-seeking states.
Lending for the purposes of servicing third world debt largely marked the period of 1980–1989. Structural adjustment policies aimed at streamlining the economies of developing nations (largely at the expense of health and social services reductions) were also a large part of World Bank policy during this period. UNICEF reported in the late 1980s that the structural adjustment programs of the World Bank were responsible for the “reduced health, nutritional, and educational levels for tens of millions of children in Asia, Latin America, and Africa”
1989–Present
From 1989 to present, World Bank policy has shifted greatly, largely in response to criticism from a plurality of groups. Environmental groups and NGOs are often now integrated into the lending practices of the bank in order to mitigate the negative results of the previous era that prompted such harsh criticism. Bank projects now explicitly embrace a "green" focus.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Bank holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. There is some automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population not employed in essential services (e.g. utilities, fire, ambulance, police, health-care workers, London Underground) receive them as holidays; those employed in essential services usually receive extra pay for working on these days. Bank holidays are often assumed to be so called because they are days upon which banks are shut, but this is not in fact the case. Some of the assumed bank holidays are days on which the banks are shut but are not, in fact, a bank holiday (e.g. Good Friday and Christmas Day). Legislation does not allow certain payments to be deferred to the working day.
History of bank holidays
Prior to 1834, the Bank of England observed about thirty-three saints' days and religious festivals as holidays, but in 1834, this was reduced to just four: 1 May, 1 November, Good Friday, and Christmas day.
In 1871, the first legislation relating to bank holidays was passed when Sir John Lubbock introduced the Bank Holidays Act 1871 which specified the days in the table set out below. Sir John was an enthusiastic supporter of cricket and was firmly of the belief that bank employees should have the opportunity to participate in and attend matches when they were scheduled. Included in the dates of bank holidays are therefore dates when cricket games were traditionally played between the villages in the region where Sir John was raised. The English people were so thankful that they called the first Bank Holidays 'St. Lubbock's Days' for awhile. Scotland was treated separately because of its separate traditions; for example, New Year is a more important holiday there.
The act does not specify Good Friday and Christmas Day as bank holidays in England,Wales and Ireland because they were already recognised as common law holidays, and because of common observance, they became customary holidays since before records began.
In 1903, the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act added 17 March saint Patrick's Day as a bank holiday for Ireland only.
From date of the August bank holiday was changed to the end of the month. Curiously, there were a few years (eg 1868) when this holiday fell in September, but this no longer occurs - presumably reflecting a change in the way of defining the relevant day. The Whitsun bank holiday (Whit Monday) was replaced by the Late Spring Bank Holiday - fixed as the last Monday in May - in 1971.
History of bank holidays
Prior to 1834, the Bank of England observed about thirty-three saints' days and religious festivals as holidays, but in 1834, this was reduced to just four: 1 May, 1 November, Good Friday, and Christmas day.
In 1871, the first legislation relating to bank holidays was passed when Sir John Lubbock introduced the Bank Holidays Act 1871 which specified the days in the table set out below. Sir John was an enthusiastic supporter of cricket and was firmly of the belief that bank employees should have the opportunity to participate in and attend matches when they were scheduled. Included in the dates of bank holidays are therefore dates when cricket games were traditionally played between the villages in the region where Sir John was raised. The English people were so thankful that they called the first Bank Holidays 'St. Lubbock's Days' for awhile. Scotland was treated separately because of its separate traditions; for example, New Year is a more important holiday there.
The act does not specify Good Friday and Christmas Day as bank holidays in England,Wales and Ireland because they were already recognised as common law holidays, and because of common observance, they became customary holidays since before records began.
In 1903, the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act added 17 March saint Patrick's Day as a bank holiday for Ireland only.
From date of the August bank holiday was changed to the end of the month. Curiously, there were a few years (eg 1868) when this holiday fell in September, but this no longer occurs - presumably reflecting a change in the way of defining the relevant day. The Whitsun bank holiday (Whit Monday) was replaced by the Late Spring Bank Holiday - fixed as the last Monday in May - in 1971.
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