World Bank boss quits setting up fight for role

World Bank boss quits setting up fight for role: World Bank president Robert Zoellick announced that he would step down at the end of June, setting up a possible new fight over US dominance at the global development lender.

Mr Zoellick, 58, said he would leave at the end of his five-year term, during which he shepherded the bank and its members through a global economic downturn that, though rooted in the US and European financial crises, had a heavy impact on many of the poorest countries.

"I'm very pleased that when the world needed the bank to step up, our shareholders responded with expanded resources and support for key reforms that made us quicker, more effective and more open," Mr Zoellick said in a statement.
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"The bank is now strong, healthy and well positioned for new challenges, and so it is a natural time for me to move on and support new leadership."