Nirmala Sitharaman believes Indian-origin Ajay Banga will use corporate experience to pursue World Bank goals

India's Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she is confident that Ajay Banga, the newly elected president of World Bank, will use his corporate world experience to pursue the multilateral lending agency's goals.

Indian-American business leader Banga has been appointed as the president of the World Bank for a five-year term. He is the first Indian-born nominee to the World Bank president role. He is expected to start the new job on June 2, succeeding David Malpass.

"Hearty congratulations Ajay Banga on being selected as the President of @WorldBank. I am confident that you'll bring your wide experience in the corporate world for meeting the goals of the Bank," Sitharaman wrote on Twitter.


Sitharaman is in Incheon in South Korea currently to attend the 56th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Banga was nominated for the office by US President Joe Biden in late February. He was the only contender to replace departing World Bank chief David Malpass.

Banga, a US citizen since 2007, currently serves as vice chair of General Atlantic, a private equity company. He also serves as co-chair of the Partnership for Central America, where he worked closely with US Vice President Kamala Harris to mobilise public, private and non-profit resources for Northern Central America. He is a former CEO of Mastercard. He retired in December 2021 after 12 years at the helm of Mastercard Inc.

The businessman was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016.