By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the World Bank Group should be led by U.S. Treasury official David Malpass, a Trump loyalist and critic of multilateral institutions who has vowed to pursue "pro-growth" reforms at the global lender.
Trump's nomination of Malpass, the Treasury Department's top diplomat, is subject to a vote by the World Bank's executive board and could draw challengers from some of the bank's 188 other shareholding countries.
The United States, the lender's largest shareholder with 16 percent of its voting power, has traditionally chosen the bank's president, but departing president Jim Yong Kim faced challengers from Colombia and Nigeria in 2012.
The nomination of Malpass, who beat out other potential candidates, including former PepsiCo chief executive officer Indra Nooyi and U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp President Ray Washburne, signals that the Trump administration wants a firmer grip on the global development lender.
"He has fought to ensure financing is focused on the places and projects that truly need assistance, including people living in extreme poverty," Trump said in announcing his choice at the White House with Malpass by his side.
(Reporting by David Lawder and Jeff Mason; Writing by David Lawder; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Jeffrey Benkoe)
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