World Bank's Banga sets goal of quintupling critical minerals financing in five years

World Bank President Ajay Banga told a plenary session in Bangkok on Friday that the lender intends to increase its critical minerals business fivefold within five years. According to Business Recorder, the institution has also picked 20 nations with which it can pursue critical minerals development schemes. Banga made the announcement in prepared remarks delivered at the joint annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank.

The new Metals and Minerals implementation plan sets a target of $19 billion in critical minerals financing for fiscal 2026 to 2030, up from $3.6 billion in the previous five-year period. Banga also said the first country compacts with MDB partners have been launched, aimed at building local industries and keeping more jobs and value within the recipient countries. The United States, the bank's largest shareholder, has pressed for greater financing in this area, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who spoke earlier this week, linked the bank's role to deep-sea mining projects, a subject Banga did not raise.

The bank's overall financing in fiscal 2026, which ended on June 30, included $112 billion in mobilized private capital, more than three times the fiscal 2022 figure. Including lending from its own balance sheet, total financing for the year reached $230 billion. Business Recorder noted that the plan also urges a precautionary stance toward this nascent sector.