THE WORLD BANK:
The World Bank is another of the 'Brettonwoods Twin Sisters'. The World Bank, as it obtains presently, is an umbrella organisation, under which five different institutions operate. These five institutions are as follows:
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD); founded in 1944, is the single largest provider of development loans.
• International Development Association (IDA); founded in 1960, assists the poorest countries.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC); supports private enterprise in developing countries.
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); offers investors insurance against non-commercial risk and help developing country governments attract foreign investment.
• International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID); encourages the flow of foreign investment to developing countries through arbitration and conciliation facilities.
Of the five institutions described above, we will take up for detailed discussion the first three institutions.