Internatinal Bank for Reconstruction and Development

The fifth annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development met simultaneously in Paris from September 6 to 14, 1950 with the Board of Governors of the International Fund. In a supplementary report by the President to the Board, Mr. Black announced that the Bank had informed the government of Iran of its willingness to open discussions for a loan of up to $3 million to meet the foreign exchange requirements for the project for rehabilitation and expansion of the port of Khorramshahr, and that the Bank had concluded its preliminary review of the proposed development program for southern Italy. The Bank notified the Italian government that it was prepared to send representatives to Italy immediately to examine the technical features of the program and to select individual projects which might be suitable for Bank financing. Between July 1, 1949 and September 1, 1950 the Bank made sixteen loans totalling $315.7 million bringing the total of loans granted up to September 1, 1950 to $965.8 million. On September 14 the board approved the reports of the Committee on Organization and Administration, of the Executive Directors on the establishment of reserve and disposition of surplus, and approved the recommendation that a study be made of the Advisory Council and that until the study was completed the election of new members to the council be deferred. At the September 15 meeting nine Executive Directors were elected to serve two-year terms. Czechoslovakia abstained from voting and was therefore not represented on the new board. At the same time, the Executive Directors representing the five largest stockholders of the Bank were appointed: one each from the United States, United Kingdom, China, France and India.