When Jim Yong Kim was appointed to head the World Bank he was hailed as an inspired choice who would help to renew its purpose. Two years later, the bank is in turmoil and there are growing doubts about Mr Kim’s grip. Far from restoring its relevance, he has unleashed a restructuring hell that has demoralised staff and entrenched doubts about its long-term role.
Mr Kim still has time to turn the bank round. But he will need to make it far clearer what he is trying to do. Too often, the instinct to reorganise is a substitute for strategy. With this week’s spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, it is the right moment for Mr Kim to spell out the method behind the apparent madness.
The backdrop is indeed tough. Mr Kim took over an institution that was increasingly shunned by the large emerging markets. Countries such as China are able to tap capital from the international markets just as cheaply – and far less bureaucratically – than World Bank loans. Mr Kim rightly argues that the bank’s value should be through the quality of advice it provides, rather than its cost of capital.