Daily Junction.mobi portalThe World Bank and IMF were created in 1944 at Bretton Woods to rebuild post-war economies and stabilise the global financial system. The World Bank lends for long-term development projects (infrastructure, education, health) while the IMF provides short-term loans to countries facing balance of payments crises. Both institutions impose conditions on loans, requiring countries to adopt economic reforms (austerity, privatisation, deregulation) that critics say harm the poor and reflect a neoliberal ideology. The US has effective veto power in both institutions, and voting is weighted by economic size, giving rich countries disproportionate influence. Calls for reform include giving developing countries more voting power, ending austerity conditions, and addressing climate change and inequality. The World Bank and IMF remain the lenders of last resort for developing countries, but their influence has declined as China and regional development banks offer alternative sources of finance. Whether they are forces for good or instruments of neocolonialism depends on who you ask, but their impact on the global economy is undeniable.