World Bank Courts Private Financing Amid Global Debt Burden

The World Bank said on Thursday that it had attracted $112 billion of private capital in 2026, a 62 percent increase from last year, as the development organization has increasingly turned to private sector investors to help finance projects in developing countries.

The effort to make the World Bank a magnet for private investment has been a priority for its president, Ajay Banga. The organization has been trying to accelerate its poverty reduction and development goals at a time when poor countries facing tight budget constraints and high interest rates are struggling to build new roads and housing.

The initiative was originally intended to raise trillions of dollars needed to combat climate change. But with President Trump leading the United States, which is the bank’s largest shareholder, Mr. Banga has been shifting the organization’s ambitions toward infrastructure and job creation.

The private investment total has nearly tripled over the last three years since Mr. Banga, who was appointed by former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., assumed leadership of the bank.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/business/world-bank-courts-private-financing-amid-global-debt-burden.html