世界銀行的全稱是國際復興與開發銀行。其職能是為重建與開發經濟所需的長期外匯——二十年或三十年——提供壹種融資機制。人們認識到，從國外購置設備是壹條發展的捷徑，但是，對於壹個缺乏具體出口商品以獲得購買此類設備所需外匯的國家來說，這是行不通的。銀行通過提供長期融資，可以加快這個地區的經濟增長。
The World Bank obtains the money it lends from three sources. When it was founded, members were required to subscribe to its capitalization. Each was assigned a block of stock in proportion to its Gross National Product.
世界銀行的貸款資金有三個來源。在創辦時，它要求成員國認購股份，提供資本金。每個國家可以按其國民生產總值的壹定比例分配到壹定份額的股份。
Ten percent of the subscription was to be paid to the Bank in cash, and the remainder was to be paid if the Bank needed it to cover its financial problems. The second source is private lenders. The 90 percent of subscriptions served as a guarantee for the Bank's own borrowing and thus enabled it to compete with the U.S. government, blue-chip private corporations, and other high-quality debtors in borrowing from the public. The money it obtained from borrowing was then lent to needy nations. In this way the Bank pledged the honor and the resources of all its members to repay loans to developing or war-torn countries. If the borrower defaulted, the Bank would first use up the money paid in by its member countries, then call on them to contribute more. A third source of money has since emerged —— the “profits” from interest paid by borrowers from the Bank. By charging interest on money contributed initially by member countries, the Bank has succeeded in roughly doubling these contributions.
10%的股金用現金支付給世界銀行，剩余的股金待碰到經濟難題需要資金時再行支付。第二個資金來源是私人貸款者。90%的股金作為銀行本身借貸的擔保，從而使世界銀行能夠同美國政府，業績優良的私人公司以及其他向公眾籌資、信譽可靠的貸款者進行競爭。世界銀行再用籌措來的資金貸給那些貧窮的國家，這樣，等於向那些發展中或遭受戰爭創傷的所有成員國償還貸款提供了信譽和資源保障。如借款人資不抵債，銀行首先用其成員國繳納的資金全力給予支持，然後要求其成員國再追加認購股金。資金的第三個來源是後來產才產生的“利潤” — 即借款人向銀行償付的利息。對使用股金收取利息，銀行已成功地將股金增長了近壹倍。
By June 1976,the Bank had made over $42.9 billion in loans to 115 countries. Most of the loans the Bank made have been for projects designed to improve the infrastructure, primarily improvements in transportation, communications, and energy. Since the late 1960s, the Bank has expanded its activities to include housing, education, credit to farmers, irrigation, and a variety of other projects with more direct effects on individuals, particularly the very poor.
截止1976年6月，世界銀行已向115個國家發放了超過4290億美元的貸款。決大部分貸款用於那些為改善基礎設施而設計的工程項目，主要用於改善交通、通訊以及能源等基礎設施。自20世紀60年代後期，該銀行已將其經營活動擴大到包括住房、教育、農業貸款、灌溉，以及其他各種各樣的項目，對個人、尤其是對窮人產生更加直接的影響。