‘Wait-and-see mode’
World Bank President Ajay Banga last month said the bank’s crisis toolkit would allow countries to draw on pre-arranged contingent financing, existing project balances and fast-disbursing instruments to access an estimated $20 billion to $25 billion.
He said the bank could also reorient parts of its portfolio to bring the total to $60 billion over six months, with further longer-term changes possible to bring the total to around $100 billion.
At the time, the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, said she expected up to a dozen countries to seek $20 billion to $50 billion in near-term assistance from the global lender. But few requests have been logged, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
“Countries are definitely in wait-and-see mode,” said one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Kevin Gallagher, director of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, said countries were more willing to seek World Bank funds than negotiate with the IMF because IMF programs generally require austerity measures that could compound the social unrest already seen in countries like Kenya.
