The Executive Directors of the World Bank elected Ajay Banga as President of the World Bank for a five-year term. The World Bank reported.

He was nominated as a candidate for the post of head of the World Bank in February 2023 by the U.S. President Biden, since the U.S. traditionally proposes the head of the World Bank. Ajay Banga was the only candidate for the post. He will formally take office on June 2, 2023. The current head of the bank, David Malpass, will leave his post a year ahead of schedule. The reason for his resignation is not officially named.

Ajay Banga most recently served as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard. Under his leadership, MasterCard launched the Center for Inclusive Growth, which advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. He was Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chairman from 2020-2022. He became an advisor to General Atlantic’s climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, at its inception in 2021. Banga served as Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America, a coalition of private organizations that works to advance economic opportunity across underserved populations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. He was previously on the Boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods, and Dow Inc.

On April 13, 2023, the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Akylbek Japarov met with Ajay Banga on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington. The parties discussed a number of important issues, including climate security, human capital development and investment in the energy industry of Kyrgyzstan.