One year after publicly leveling harsh criticism at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has offered a positive assessment, saying both global financial institutions are now moving forward in a productive, constructive direction.
Bessent shared his updated views during remarks delivered Tuesday on the sidelines of this year’s IMF and World Bank spring meetings, a high-profile annual gathering that draws hundreds of global finance ministry officials and financial leaders to Washington, D.C. Speaking at an event hosted by the Institute of International Finance alongside the main meetings, Bessent offered public congratulations to the leadership of both institutions for the shifts they have made over the past 12 months.
Highlighting work at the IMF, Bessent noted the fund is currently taking steps to reintegrate Venezuela into the global financial framework to support the country’s return to a functional, normalized economy, adding that he expects the institution to play a critical, meaningful role in that process. Turning to the World Bank, the Treasury Secretary stated the institution has regained strong momentum in its core work expanding energy access, unlocking development resources, and building economic stability for the world’s lowest-income nations.
Last year at the same spring gathering, Bessent made waves by arguing that both the IMF and World Bank had strayed from their core mandates, claiming they should prioritize expanding global economic growth rather than devoting significant resources to social policy issues. At the time, he specifically called out the IMF for allocating what he called “disproportionate time” to high-profile social and environmental topics including climate change and gender equity. For the World Bank, he argued the institution should refocus its efforts on its foundational missions: helping developing nations grow their economies, cut extreme poverty, and attract greater cross-border investment.
On Tuesday, Bessent acknowledged meaningful progress, saying the World Bank has successfully made a positive policy shift, particularly around nuclear energy development. The bank previously announced last year it would re-enter nuclear energy financing for the first time in nearly 30 years, a change designed to help meeting rapidly growing electricity demand across developing economies. Today, Bessent said the World Bank now holds a far more supportive stance toward expanding “energy abundance” and has refocused on its founding mission of lifting vulnerable communities out of poverty. He reiterated his long-held criticism, noting that an overemphasis on social and climate issues amounts to what he calls “luxury beliefs” that distract from the institutions’ core work.