World Bank: 27 countries seek crisis access
- On May 22, Reuters reported that 27 countries had moved to secure rapid access to World Bank crisis financing after the Iran war disrupted trade. - The key figure was 27: Reuters said three countries had already approved new instruments, while the others were still completing access arrangements. - The World Bank’s crisis toolkit and Cat DDO facilities are the main mechanisms countries can draw on if conditions worsen.
Twenty-seven countries have moved since the Iran war began on February 28 to put in place World Bank crisis instruments that would let them draw quickly on existing financing if conditions deteriorate further, according to an internal bank document seen by Reuters. The document did not identify the countries or the total amount they could seek. The World Bank declined to comment, Reuters reported on May 22. The move points to governments trying to arrange access before a wider balance-of-payments or fiscal squeeze forces them into a slower emergency response. ### Which World Bank tools are countries trying to line up? The World Bank said in a recent description of its Crisis Preparedness and Response Toolkit that the package, approved in February 2024, was designed to let countries “respond faster to crisis” through pre-arranged and rapid-disbursing instruments. The toolkit includes the Rapid Response Option, which allows countries to repurpose up to 10% of undisbursed World Bank financing during a crisis, as well as contingent facilities including the Development Policy Financing Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option, or Cat DDO. The World Bank said the toolkit also gives countries added flexibility to put in place contingent resources through DPF Cat DDO and Investment Project Financing deferred drawdown options. The same toolkit includes climate-resilient debt clauses for eligible small states, allowing them to defer principal and interest payments in a crisis. (worldbank.org) ### Why are governments moving now instead of waiting for a formal emergency? Reuters reported that the push began after the Middle East conflict started on February 28 and as disruption in global energy markets hit supply chains and blocked fertilizer shipments to developing countries. Officials in Kenya and Iraq told Reuters they were seeking rapid World Bank support to deal with the fallout, including higher fuel prices in Kenya and a steep fall in oil revenue in Iraq. (worldbank.org) Ajay Banga, the World Bank’s president, said last month that the bank’s crisis toolkit would allow countries to tap pre-arranged contingent financing, existing project balances and fast-disbursing instruments worth an estimated $20 billion to $25 billion. Reuters reported that Banga also said the bank could reorient parts of its portfolio to raise that amount to $60 billion over six months, with longer-term changes potentially lifting it to about $100 billion. (finance.yahoo.com) ### How broad is the current safety net? Reuters reported that the 27 countries are part of a larger group of 101 countries that already had access to some form of pre-arranged World Bank financing instrument. Of those, 54 had signed up for the Rapid Response Option, which permits the use of up to 10% of undisbursed financing in a crisis. (finance.yahoo.com) A World Bank-supported Cat DDO dashboard says its data was last updated on December 16, 2025, and tracks portfolio-level trends for those deferred drawdown operations. A 2025 World Bank note described Cat DDOs as a policy-linked contingent financing tool used in disaster resilience planning, showing that the instrument was already being expanded before the current conflict-driven demand. (finance.yahoo.com) ### Why are some countries looking first to the World Bank rather than the IMF? Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said last month she expected up to a dozen countries to seek $20 billion to $50 billion in near-term IMF assistance, Reuters reported. But Reuters said few requests had been logged, citing three sources familiar with the matter. One of those sources said countries were in “wait-and-see mode.” (wbcatddodashboard.org) Kevin Gallagher, director of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, told Reuters that countries were more willing to seek World Bank funds than negotiate with the IMF because IMF programs generally require austerity measures. Gallagher said those conditions could worsen social unrest, including in countries such as Kenya. (finance.yahoo.com) ### What comes next if the shock deepens? Three countries had already approved new World Bank crisis instruments by May 22, Reuters reported, while the others were still completing the process. The next visible test will be whether more governments convert those arrangements into actual drawdowns if fuel, shipping and liquidity pressures continue to worsen. (finance.yahoo.com)
