The World Bank Group is now the largest public "development" institution in the world. Its policies, projects and influence have a direct impact on the lives of millions of people in developing countries across the world. Bank policies and projects have been directly linked to poverty, environmental degradation and the growing gap between the rich and the poor.

The World Bank was originally created in 1944 as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), in order to help the reconstruction effort in Europe after World War II. As the Bank's focus shifted to developing countries, more agencies were created, namely the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

We work to:

• cancel the debt owed to the World Bank by the poorest countries;
• halt Bank conditionalities as currently constituted;
• monitor Bank lending in the area of the environment;
• stop World Bank financing of environmentally and socially destructive projects through the IFC and MIGA, particularly in the extractive industries sector;
• make the links between the World Bank agenda, the World Trade Organization and trade agreements;
• change policies and governance of the Bank to increase democratic space, transparency, community involvement, full and open public participation and public accountability;
• promote alternatives to the current global financial architecture (GFA), including the use of the Tobin tax.

• FAQs - World Bank; Canada, the World Bank and the IMF
• Glossary of Financial Terms
• Key contacts
• Links

World Bank -related

• Official correspondence
• Reports and analysis
• Statements and submissions
• World Bank Bond Boycott campaign (archived)