Last week the World Bank, originally chartered in 1944, finally transacted its first piece of business. With a minimum of formality and the signing of a mere twelve documents, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development took a positive step toward "bringing about a smooth transition from a wartime to a peacetime economy." This first step was a loan of $250,000,000 to France, for 30 years, at 3ΒΌ% interest, plus 1% commission (on the outstanding part) which the Bank collects to build up a special reserve. The negotiations, which took only six weeks, were conducted for the Bank by smiling,...
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