WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - The German government is satisfied with the consultations at the World Bank's spring meetings and the initial progress made towards a fundamental reform of the development bank, Germany's finance minister said on Thursday in Washington.
The World Bank has submitted a long-awaited reform plan that would boost annual lending to middle-income countries to fight climate change and other global crises by about $5 billion annually while protecting the bank's top-tier credit rating.
The minister, Christian Lindner, said he had met Ajay Banga, the U.S. nominee to head the World Bank and former Mastercard (MA.N) CEO. "I am very impressed with the candidate for the presidency of the World Bank," Lindner said. "He is a very good choice."
Banga will mobilize private funds for poor countries, having a lot of experience in the private sector, Lindner said.
The U.S. nominee sees that the World Bank has additional tasks in climate protection, without leaving aside its goal of reducing poverty, Lindner said. "That is also in line with the German government's goal of taking a holistic approach to supporting low-income and middle-income countries," the finance minister said.
Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel added that the clear separation between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank must be maintained.
The World Bank has development tasks, the IMF is concerned with the debt sustainability of countries in financial distress.
