World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announces resignation

World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva will serve as interim president upon Kim’s February 1 departure.

Washington, Jan 7, 2019 (AFP) - World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced Monday he would step down next month, more than three years before his current term was due to expire.

Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, speaks at the Milken Institute 21st Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, US, May 1, 2018. (REUTERS)

“It has been a great honor to serve as president of this remarkable institution, full of passionate individuals dedicated to the mission of ending extreme poverty in our lifetime,” Kim said in a statement.

Kim, who took over leadership of the global lender in 2012, is to join an as-yet unnamed firm focusing on investments in developing countries.

World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva will serve as interim president upon Kim’s February 1 departure, the bank said in a statement.