The In­ter­na­tional Bank for Reconstruction and De­vel­op­ment (IBRD) was founded in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference as part of the World Bank Group.

In 1946 it began its work. Germany has been a member since 1952. Currently (as at: March 2013), 186 member states hold shares in the total capital of 175 billion US dollars. Germany holds 4.7 per cent of this sum.

Responsibilities of the IBRD

After the Second World War, the IBRD was responsible for procuring capital for coun­tries with very little foreign exchange, which were not considered credit-worthy, to help them rebuild and develop. It issues bonds on the financial markets and passes on this capital in the form of loans. Now, its main task is to promote economic de­vel­op­ment in middle-income coun­tries and in credit-worthy poor coun­tries. To this end, it awards loans on terms similar to those available on the market.

In the fiscal year 2012 the IBRD authorised loans totalling 20.6 billion US dollars to finance projects and programmes. The major basis for the scope and direction of loans is a coun­try strategy elaborated by the World Bank in conjunction with the recipient coun­try. Germany holds 4.48 per cent of the voting rights within the IBRD.