World Bank says war to cut global growth, boosts financing target

Categories: UK NEWS

WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - The World Bank is reducing its global growth forecast for 2022 by nearly a full percentage point, to 3.2% from 4.1%, due to the impacts from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, World Bank President David Malpass said on Monday.Malpass told reporters on a conference call that the World Bank was responding to the added economic stresses from the war by proposing a new, 15-month crisis financing target of $170 billion, with a goal to commit about $50 billion of this financing over the next three months.

The situation was "rapidly evolving," he said and predicted more bilateral announcements on humanitarian assistance and other aid this week, without providing further details.Malpass said the bank had quickly disbursed about $600 million of an initial $1 billion in aid promised for Ukraine, and was now working to raise another $1.5 billion in bank funds that still needed to be approved by its board.

"There will be other components making up the $3 billion that we originally announced six weeks ago or so," Malpass told reporters, noting that the bank's International Finance Corp was also providing working capital and trade finance for companies doing business in Ukraine.U.S. President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last month that the United States would provide $500 million in direct budgetary assistance.