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The Board of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development held its 1963 annual meeting jointly with that of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., from September 30 to October 4, 1963, under the chairmanship of Mr. Guido Carli, Governor for Italy.1 The meeting was held in conjunction with the annual meetings of the Bank's affiliates, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the International Development Association (IDA). The new President of the Bank and its affiliates, Mr. George D. Woods, presented in his annual address a brief summary of the highlights of the year's activities and a more detailed picture of the future opportunities of the Bank

Between July 1,1951 and March 31,1952,1 the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development made fourteen loans totalling $212,658,000, bringing total loan commitments as of March 31, 1952 to $1,326,183,000. Through this period, the Bank continued to advise member governments in the preparation and execution of specific development programs and of general programs for economic development in member countries and their territories.

Forty-seven nations were represented at the third annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which was held in Washington from September 27 to October 1, 1948. Yun-wu Wang, Minister of Finance of China, acted as chairman of the joint sessions with the International Monetary Fund and also presided at other Bank meetings.

The 1962 annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Bank, held in conjunction with the annual meetings of the International Development Association (IDA) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), took place in Washington, D.C. on September 17–21, 1962, under the chairmanship of Mr.Ahmed Zaki Saad, Governor for Saudi Arabia. In the annual address, Mr. Eugene R. Black, President of the International Bank, summarized some of the achievements of the Bank and its affiliates in the past year. He also commented on the external economic difficulties facing the developing countries and pointed out some of the implications of these difficulties as they affected the amount and kind of aid the developing countries needed.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced on September 6, 1961, a loan equivalent to $3 million to the Central Bank of Costa Rica to assist in a program for the importation of equipment for the development of private industry. The loan was guaranteed by the government of Costa Rica and was for a twelve-year term; the six private banks participating in the loan for a total of $314,000 were to receive the first two maturities falling due in October 1964 and April 1965. On October 13, 1961, the Bank announced three loans. The first, amounting to $34 million, was to the National Power Corporation of the Philippines to assist in financing a large hydroelectric project on the island of Luzon. Twelve United States commercial banks participated in the loan to the amount of $1,217,000 covering the first three maturities of the 25-year term of the loan that was scheduled for semi-annual amortization payments beginning June 1, 1965. On the same day a loan of $50 million to India to assist in railway development under the Third Five-Year Plan was made known. Five United States commercial banks participated for a total of $1,075,000 in the twenty-year term loan with repayment scheduled to begin in
February 1965. The final loan announced on October 13 was to Costa Rica for the improvement of its highway system; the International Bank and the International Development Association (IDA) joined in making $11 million available for that purpose, each offering $5.5 million for the financing of the reconstruction and construction of about 420 miles of national and regional highways and for the import of equipment for highway construction and maintenance. Three commercial banks participated to the extent of $150,000 in the fifteen-year term loan; amortization was to begin on May 1, 1965.

Forty-eight nations were represented at the fourth annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which was held in Washington from September 13 to 16, 1949. Maurice Petsche, Minister of Finance of France and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Bank, acted as chairman and as co-chairman at the joint sessions with the International Monetary Fund.

Like the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development devoted most of its first year of existence to the creation of a working organization, postponing its program of making loans to facilitate the reconstruction and development of productive capacity in many nations.

The seventh annual report of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to the Board of Governors, covering the period July 1, 1951 to June 30, 1952, was transmitted by the President of the Bank (Black) to the Board on September 3, 1952. During the fiscal year reviewed in the report, the Bank continued to help its members to draw up long-term programs of economic development, which were designed to raise the level of productivity and to increase the standard of living through the dispatch of general survey missions, primarily, and through the appointment of a number of specialized missions to study specific development problems in member countries. Although it was considered too early to attempt any general appraisal of the impact of the technical assistance program, the Bank reported its encouragement with evidence that the work done by the survey missions was achieving results in most countries to which they had been sent. The Bank also indicated that survey missions could often have the effect of changing the attitude of the country toward development problems.

The sixth annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development took place in Washington, D. C, September 10 to 14, 1951, concurrently with the meeting of the Board of the International Monetary Fund. In presenting the Bank's Sixth Annual Report to the Board, the President (Black) reviewed briefly the Bank's activities for the year ended June 30, 1951. He pointed out that in all phases of its operations, the year was the largest in the Bank's history and demonstrated its considerable and growing strength. He expressed the opinion that the Bank, unless there was further deterioration in the international situation, could meet all the capital needs of economic development in its member states, to the extent that these needs should be met on a long-term loan basis. In view of this, he questioned the validity of continuing suggestions to vastly increase funds for this purpose. By that he did not exclude the provision of other instruments for providing capital for economic growth and stated that the Bank was studying a proposal for the establishment of an international finance corporation to complement' the Bank by providing equity investments and loans for private enterprise without governmental guarantee. The Bank's report on this proposal was to be presented to the United Nations Economic and Social Council in the spring of 1952.

The eleventh annual report of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which was presented to the Board of Governors on September 25, 1956, covered the activities of the Bank for the period July 1, 1955—June 30, 1956. During the year under review, the Bank had made 26 loans, totalling the equivalent of $396 million, in 20 countries and territories, in six of which the Bank had not lent before. Lending since the Bank had begun its operations totaled the equivalent of $2,720 million ($2,667 million net of cancellations and refundings) in 42 countries. About 70 percent of the total loaned during the year under review had been directed toward the development of electric power and the improvement of transportation. Notable features in the year's lending operations had been the increased activity of the Bank in Asia, where lending totaled $166 million, the size of the projects assisted, and the extent to which the loans had supported programs rather than single projects.

On July 11, 1958, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development made a loan equivalent to $33 million to the Japan Development Bank to assist the privately owned Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. to modernize and expand the capacity of its iron and steel plants. United States, German, and Swiss banks participated in the loan, without the Bank's guarantee, for a total amount equivalent to $1,100,000. The entire project was scheduled for completion by March 1962 at an estimated cost equivalent to $83 million. The Bank's loan, which financed approximately 40 percent of this total, was for a term of 15 years and bore interest of 5⅜ percent. It was guaranteed by the government of Japan.

On January 15, 1948, John J. McCloy, President of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, announced that the Bank proposed to cooperate with any agencies created to implement the European Recovery Plan. He pointed out that for a few years the Bank's role in European economy would differ from the role envisaged for it by the Bretton Woods conference, and that the European Recovery Plan while overshadowing the activities of the Bank would also make it possible for the Bank to concentrate on financing specific "productive projects" by relieving it of the pressure of making loans intended primarily to meet "balance of payment deficits."

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development made a loan of $30 million for the continuation of a national power expansion program in Yugoslavia. The loan was to help to finance construction of a 240,000-kilowatt hydroelectric plant in central Yugoslavia, and the extension of the country-wide electric power network by the installation of 362 miles of transmission lines and associated substations. The loan was made to the Yugoslav Investment Bank, an institution of the federal government which channeled investment funds for development. The Investment Bank was to re-lend the proceeds of the Bank loan to the enterprises responsible for constructing and operating the power plant and the transmission system. The loan was for a term of 25 years at an interest rate of 5¾ percent; amortization was to begin on December 1, 1966. The loan was guaranteed by the government of Yugoslavia.

The twentieth annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) took place in Washington, September 27–October 1, 1965, under the chairmanship of Yilma Deressa, Minister of Finance and Governor for Ethiopia. The meeting was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and with the annual meetings of the Bank's affiliates, the International Development Association (IDA) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).