The World Bank Is Remaking Itself as a Creature of Wall Streetbr In November, David Malpass, who oversees international affairs at the Treasury Department, said at a congressional hearingbr that those benefiting from the World Bank’s lending practices were "the people who fly in on a first-class ticket to give advice to governments." And Adam Lerrick, Mr. Trump’s nominee to be a deputy under secretary responsible for the relationship with the World Bank, was a leading contributor to a study that questioned the relevance of the institution.br Via the International Finance Corporation, which is its private sector lending armbr and provides cash to companies in exchange for equity stakes, the World Bank currently drums up more than $7 billion a year from the private sector to invest in ventures in the developing world.br Mr. Rubenstein said that I have met with him many times,br Unlike past World Bank presidents, who hailed from politicsbr and finance, Mr. Kim’s background — as a public health crusader and a vocal critic of the bank for imposing heavy-handed solutions on poor countries — made him acutely aware of the institution’s frailties.br Brought in by Mr. Kim a little over a year ago, Mr. Romer ruffled feathers by criticizing the quality of the bank’s voluminous economic reports.br It was 8 a.m. at World Bank headquarters in Washington, and Mr. Kim took his seat at the boat-sized table that dominates the bank’s board room.br He golfs (very well, by all accounts) with Michael Bloomberg — who has backed several projects at the bankbr and hails Mr. Kim as a "doer" — and swaps books with President Emmanuel Macron of France, most recently sending him a copy of "Orientalism," Edward Said’s critique of Western attitudes toward the Middle East and Asia.