Washington turns up the heat at Bangkok’s IMF–World Bank meetings. Absent Treasury chief Scott Bessent demands oil and gas funding, nuclear investment, an end to China loans and cuts to costly executive boards. He warns the IMF to change course now.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has launched a fierce attack on the World Bank and IMF at their Bangkok annual meetings, despite refusing to attend. In written statements, he demanded an end to climate-driven restrictions on oil and gas financing, alongside a call for enhanced investment in nuclear power, critical minerals and deep-sea mining. China faced direct criticism, with Bessent demanding an end to World Bank lending to Beijing and tougher IMF scrutiny of trade distortions. Furthermore, he warned that the IMF risked marginalisation and attacked executive boards costing over $200 million annually. His intervention puts Washington’s financial muscle behind a major overhaul of both institutions as Thailand struggles with weak growth, debt and mounting industrial competition.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has launched a blistering attack on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund during their annual meetings in Bangkok. Despite staying away from the gathering, Bessent delivered an extensive programme of reforms in written statements issued on Wednesday, October 14.
His demands, reported on Thursday, included ending climate-driven restrictions on financing oil and gas exploration and extraction. Furthermore, he called for greater investment in nuclear power, critical minerals and deep-sea mining.
China was another major target, with Washington demanding an end to World Bank lending to the communist-ruled country. Bessent also warned that the IMF risked becoming marginalised unless it challenged damaging economic policies. Meanwhile, he attacked executive spending, demanding freezes or cuts to board salaries and budgets costing more than $200 million annually.
Bessent skips Bangkok meetings but delivers a sweeping challenge to World Bank and IMF priorities
The intervention delivered one of the biggest news stories from the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok. It also represented a direct challenge to the policies and priorities of two institutions central to international finance.
Notably, Bessent made his demands without attending the meetings personally. Instead, he remained in the United States, citing domestic commitments. Deputy Treasury Secretary Francis Brooke and Under Secretary for International Affairs Erin Browne led the American Treasury delegation.
However, Bessent’s absence did not prevent Washington from setting out an extensive reform programme. His statements challenged the World Bank’s energy financing, development priorities, lending practices and internal spending.
At the same time, he demanded fundamental changes to the IMF’s supervision of the international economy. He accused both institutions of losing focus on their original responsibilities. Moreover, he questioned their effectiveness and use of financial resources.
The United States is the largest shareholder in both institutions. Consequently, Washington occupies a powerful position in discussions over their future policies. Bessent’s intervention also reflected President Donald Trump’s determination to prioritise American economic and national security interests in international financial policy.
Washington demands an end to World Bank restrictions on financing oil and gas exploration projects
The Treasury Secretary’s most immediate demand concerned the World Bank’s restrictions on financing fossil fuel development. He called for the formal abandonment of restrictions on upstream oil and gas projects.
These projects include exploration and extraction, rather than simply transporting or distributing existing supplies. The restrictions have limited World Bank support for new oil and gas development. They form part of the institution’s climate-related financing policies.
Bessent argued that developing countries must have greater freedom to determine their energy requirements. He demanded a technology-neutral approach permitting financing across a wider range of energy sources.
In particular, Washington wants the World Bank to restore support for oil and gas exploration and extraction. Bessent also called for greater investment in natural gas infrastructure. He welcomed recent World Bank support for gas-related development in West Africa. Nevertheless, he insisted that further reforms were necessary.
The Treasury Secretary linked his demands directly to economic development and employment. He argued that affordable and reliable electricity is essential to industrial production, business investment and poverty reduction.
Additionally, he supported efforts to provide electricity access to another 300 million people across Africa. The initiative forms part of a wider effort to address inadequate electricity supplies across developing economies.
Climate financing restrictions face challenge as Bessent backs nuclear energy and fossil fuel projects
Bessent’s position directly challenges the influence of climate policies on international development lending. Instead, Washington wants energy financing decisions to concentrate more heavily on economic requirements and investment returns.
The proposed changes would reopen financing opportunities for projects currently restricted by World Bank policy. However, the demands remain proposals. The World Bank has not formally agreed to abandon its existing restrictions.
The timing was significant. The Middle East war has created another major international energy shock. As a result, energy-importing economies face additional pressure from higher costs. Developing countries also continue to require investment in electricity generation and industrial infrastructure. Bessent’s proposals would place fossil fuel development more prominently within the World Bank’s financing activities.
In parallel, the Treasury Secretary demanded greater support for nuclear energy. He announced an initial American contribution to the World Bank-administered Nuclear Energy Assistance Trust Fund.
The initiative supports countries preparing for future investment in nuclear electricity generation. Such preparations include technical expertise, regulatory systems, institutional capacity and investment planning. However, the Treasury Secretary did not disclose the size of Washington’s contribution.
Nuclear power joins critical minerals and deep-sea mining among Washington’s new investment priorities
The announcement placed nuclear power alongside fossil fuels in America’s preferred development financing priorities. Bessent presented nuclear energy as another means of expanding reliable electricity supplies.
Furthermore, the initiative would support countries seeking to develop the institutions and technical capacity required for nuclear projects. Washington is demanding a broader energy investment programme covering natural gas, oil and nuclear power.
On another front, Bessent identified critical minerals as a priority for World Bank investment. These materials are essential to advanced manufacturing, batteries, electronics, electricity infrastructure and defence industries.
The Treasury Secretary demanded greater support for mineral extraction, processing facilities and related infrastructure. He welcomed the World Bank’s recently approved Metals and Minerals Implementation Plan. Nevertheless, Bessent pressed the institution to move further and expand practical investment support.
Significantly, he singled out deep-sea mining as an emerging industry requiring greater attention. Deep-sea mining involves extracting mineral resources from the ocean floor. The industry has attracted international interest because of rising demand for strategically important materials. Bessent proposed a greater World Bank role in providing technical guidance and assistance for such projects.
China faces pressure over minerals and World Bank loans as Washington seeks major lending reforms
Deep-sea mining remains controversial because of concerns about damage to marine ecosystems. Its long-term environmental consequences also remain uncertain. Even so, Washington has placed critical minerals at the centre of its economic and national security priorities.
China occupies a powerful position in the processing and supply chains of several strategically important minerals. Developing alternative sources and processing capacity has therefore become a major American objective.
The World Bank proposals would expand international development financing into these industries. They would also support mineral-related investment in developing countries. Separately, Bessent launched another direct challenge involving China’s relationship with the World Bank.
He demanded faster progress towards ending sovereign lending to China and Poland. The Treasury Secretary argued that sufficiently developed economies should no longer receive the same financing opportunities as poorer countries.
He welcomed plans to withdraw lending from both countries. However, he insisted that the World Bank establish a stronger process for removing countries from borrowing eligibility. Bessent said the institution was experiencing the longest period in its history without a country graduating from lending eligibility.
Bessent questions World Bank loans to China and demands faster graduation of wealthy borrowing nations
The situation, he argued, raised serious questions about how the bank allocated development resources. Washington wants the institution to concentrate its lending on poorer economies with greater financing needs.
China was a particularly significant target. The communist-ruled country has become one of the world’s largest economies and a major industrial power. It is also one of America’s principal strategic and economic competitors.
Yet China has continued to qualify for certain World Bank financing arrangements. Bessent challenged the justification for this continued access. He demanded clearer rules for ending lending eligibility when countries reach sufficient levels of economic development.
The Treasury Secretary pressed the bank to accelerate the process. His demands would place greater pressure on middle-income borrowers approaching the institution’s graduation criteria. Nonetheless, Bessent did not identify Thailand as a country whose borrowing eligibility should end. The proposed changes would require decisions through the World Bank’s governing arrangements.
World Bank faces demands for debt transparency, competitive contracts and measurable results
In addition, Bessent attacked opaque international lending practices and demanded stronger debt transparency. He criticised coercive arrangements and insufficient disclosure in international financing. Although China was not directly identified in that section, Washington has repeatedly challenged Beijing’s overseas lending practices. The Treasury Secretary demanded greater transparency over debt obligations and financing arrangements.
His criticism extended beyond individual lending decisions. It also questioned the World Bank’s effectiveness in managing international development resources.
Bessent accused the institution of placing excessive emphasis on the volume of loans rather than their economic results. He argued that lending should be assessed against measurable improvements in employment, productivity and living standards. Moreover, he demanded a stronger concentration on poverty reduction and productive investment.
The Treasury Secretary acknowledged that the World Bank had introduced some reforms. These included changes to climate financing targets and greater attention to employment. He also recognised efforts to withdraw lending from countries considered sufficiently developed. Despite this, Bessent argued that progress remained inadequate. His demands challenged the institution’s operating priorities as well as its lending eligibility rules.
The Treasury Secretary also targeted the World Bank’s procurement arrangements. He criticised practices that favour subsidies, distort competition or permit corruption and collusion.
Such arrangements, he argued, can increase project costs and reduce the benefits of development financing. Washington wants stronger competition and better value for money in World Bank-funded contracts. Bessent acknowledged recent procurement improvements but demanded further action.
Bessent attacks private-sector lending failures and warns IMF over distorted international trade
His criticism also extended to the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private-sector financing arm. The corporation has committed to directing 40% of new financing commitments towards the poorest and most fragile countries.
Yet Bessent said progress towards this target remained insufficient. He questioned whether the organisation was concentrating enough resources on countries with the greatest development needs. The intervention therefore challenged both sovereign lending and private-sector investment.
Turning to the International Monetary Fund, the Treasury Secretary delivered equally severe criticism. Bessent accused the institution of failing to challenge economic policies that distort international trade and competition. These included government intervention, exchange-rate practices and policies contributing to persistent global trade imbalances. He warned that the IMF risked becoming marginalised unless it responded more forcefully.
IMF faces criticism over China, industrial subsidies and failures to challenge global trade imbalances
The warning struck at one of the institution’s principal responsibilities. The IMF monitors national economic policies and developments affecting the international monetary system. It also assesses financial stability, debt sustainability and balance-of-payments problems.
However, Bessent argued that its economic surveillance had failed to address damaging policies adequately. He demanded more rigorous monitoring and stronger criticism of practices that distort international competition.
Although China was not explicitly named, Reuters and AFP interpreted the remarks as directed primarily towards Beijing. The Trump government has repeatedly criticised China’s industrial subsidies, manufacturing overcapacity and export dependence. Washington argues that such policies create unfair competition and damage producers elsewhere. Bessent’s statement placed greater responsibility on the IMF to challenge these practices.
Specifically, he demanded stronger scrutiny of government intervention and persistent trade imbalances. He also called for more effective assessments of exchange-rate policies and their economic consequences.
The Treasury Secretary warned that failure to act would weaken the IMF’s international relevance. Nevertheless, he reaffirmed American support for a strong and adequately funded institution. Washington’s demands concerned its direction and effectiveness rather than its continued existence.
Washington demands tighter IMF lending rules and targets executive spending at both global institutions
Bessent also called for stronger IMF lending programmes. He demanded better assessments of sovereign debt sustainability and greater financial discipline. Furthermore, he argued that the institution should concentrate on its core responsibilities.
These include international monetary stability, financial crises and balance-of-payments financing. The Treasury Secretary questioned whether some IMF activities had moved too far beyond those objectives.
In particular, he criticised aspects of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust. The trust provides longer-term financing to eligible countries facing structural challenges affecting economic stability.
Bessent questioned whether some financing had a sufficiently clear connection to balance-of-payments pressures. He demanded tighter control over lending activities and stronger justification for financial commitments. The criticism reflected Washington’s wider demand for international institutions to concentrate on their original purposes.
Bessent’s intervention went considerably further than lending and economic policy. He also launched a direct attack on the cost of running the World Bank and IMF.
The Treasury Secretary singled out their executive boards, whose combined annual costs exceed $200 million. He demanded that board budgets and salaries be frozen indefinitely or reduced. Additionally, he described their operating costs as substantially higher than those at comparable international financial institutions.
Bessent demands spending restraint and disposal of IMF facilities as Bangkok meetings continue
The demand placed executive remuneration and institutional overheads directly under American scrutiny. Bessent also called for continued restraint in administrative spending. He argued that international financial institutions should exercise tighter control over their own operating expenses.
Meanwhile, the IMF faced another specific demand involving its property and facilities. The Treasury Secretary called for the disposal of the Bretton Woods Recreation Centre and Concordia Hotel.
The proposals formed part of his broader campaign to reduce expenditure unrelated to the institutions’ principal financial functions. Consequently, the American reform programme extended from international lending policies to executive salaries and recreational facilities. The intervention was particularly striking because Bessent had chosen not to attend the Bangkok meetings.
The Treasury Department explained that domestic commitments prevented him from travelling. Instead, senior American Treasury officials represented Washington at the gathering. Even so, the Secretary’s written statements ensured that the American position occupied a central place in the proceedings. The meetings had brought together finance ministers, central bankers and senior economic officials from across the world.
Global energy shocks and mounting debt sharpen Washington’s demands at the Bangkok meetings
They were taking place amid considerable international economic uncertainty. The Middle East war had disrupted energy markets. Meanwhile, rising borrowing costs continued to threaten heavily indebted economies.
Global trade tensions were also placing pressure on manufacturing and international investment. Against this background, Bessent demanded changes across several major areas of international financial policy.
His proposals covered fossil fuel financing, nuclear energy, critical minerals, China, international lending and institutional expenditure. Furthermore, they challenged the effectiveness of IMF surveillance and World Bank development financing.
The American intervention came as the United States held the G20 presidency. Washington had already indicated that its participation in the meetings would reflect American economic and national security priorities.
Bessent’s statements provided a detailed account of those priorities. They also placed the institutions under direct pressure to justify their policies and spending. For Thailand, the developments were particularly relevant. Bangkok was hosting the meetings while facing weak economic growth, high household debt and investment difficulties. The country also faces increasing industrial competition from other Southeast Asian economies.
Thailand faces questions over energy financing, China trade and World Bank support for developing nations
Meanwhile, its manufacturing sector remains closely connected to Chinese and regional supply chains. Washington’s demands concerning Chinese industrial policies and international trade could therefore have implications for Thai manufacturers.
The proposed changes to energy financing are also relevant to developing and middle-income economies. Greater World Bank support for natural gas and nuclear power could eventually broaden available financing options.
However, any direct benefits for Thailand would depend on individual projects, lending arrangements and national energy policy. Similarly, expanded investment in critical minerals could affect industrial development across Southeast Asia. Bessent announced no specific measures directed at Thailand. Nor did he demand an end to Thai borrowing from the World Bank. His criticism focused on countries considered sufficiently developed to leave existing lending programmes.
Thai Finance Minister Ekniti outlines development priorities as Bessent challenges World Bank policies
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanpraphas addressed the World Bank Development Committee on Thursday. Representing the Southeast Asia Voting Group, Ekniti called for development financing that produces measurable economic benefits.
He emphasised quality employment, improved livelihoods and stronger economic capabilities. Additionally, the Thai Finance Minister stressed the importance of supporting middle-income countries seeking to upgrade their economies.
His remarks reflected Thailand’s interest in financing that improves productivity and employment. However, the Thai presentation also supported accelerating the transition towards cleaner energy. That position differed from Washington’s demand to remove restrictions on upstream oil and gas financing. Nevertheless, both statements emphasised the economic results of development investment.
Bessent’s intervention now leaves the World Bank and IMF facing a detailed American reform agenda. The Treasury Secretary wants the World Bank to abandon restrictions on financing oil and gas exploration and extraction.
He also wants greater support for nuclear power, critical minerals and deep-sea mining. Furthermore, Washington is demanding faster graduation of sufficiently developed countries from World Bank borrowing programmes. China and Poland were specifically identified.
Washington’s reform demands now confront IMF and World Bank governing bodies over future policy choices
At the IMF, Bessent demanded stronger action against economic policies that distort trade and competition. He also called for tighter lending discipline, better debt assessments and greater attention to financial stability. Meanwhile, both institutions face demands to reduce executive costs and restrain administrative expenditure. The proposals have not been adopted as institutional policy.
Changes to lending arrangements, energy financing and internal operations would require decisions through the institutions’ governing bodies. However, the United States possesses substantial influence as their largest shareholder. Washington’s demands consequently carry considerable weight in discussions over future policy.
Bessent’s intervention was also unusually broad. It challenged the World Bank’s climate-related financing restrictions and its continued lending to China. At the same time, it questioned the IMF’s willingness to criticise economic practices damaging international competition. Furthermore, it attacked the cost of running both institutions, including executive salaries and facilities.
The Treasury Secretary’s decision to remain in the United States did not reduce the scope of his demands. Instead, he delivered a comprehensive challenge through written statements issued as the annual meetings proceeded in Bangkok. The timing ensured that his proposals reached the institutions during one of their most important annual gatherings.
Bessent’s reform agenda puts World Bank lending, IMF oversight and executive spending under pressure
For the World Bank, the demands centred on development priorities, energy financing and the allocation of lending resources. For the IMF, they centred on economic surveillance, lending discipline and international monetary stability. Both institutions were also told to tighten their own spending.
The American position was therefore clear. Washington wants major changes to how the World Bank and IMF lend money, supervise economies and manage their operations. Bessent has now placed those demands before the institutions’ governing committees.
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Their response will determine how far Washington succeeds in changing the direction of international development financing and economic oversight.
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