Washington, 23 February 2023 (dpa/MIA) - US President Joe Biden has nominated former Mastercard chief executive Ajay Banga to head the World Bank.

He is "uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history," Biden said on Thursday in a White House statement.

The Indian-American manager is currently vice chairman at the private equity firm General Atlantic.

Traditionally, the US picks the president of the World Bank and Europe chooses the managing director of its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund.

The US is the World Bank's largest shareholder. But it still needs the backing of other member states for its nominee to go through.

Banga has a "unique perspective" on the opportunities and challenges of developing and emerging countries and on how the World Bank can implement its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and increase prosperity, Biden said.

Banga also has experience in mobilizing funds to tackle the most pressing challenges, including climate change, the president added.

Last week, World Bank President David Malpass unexpectedly announced his resignation. Malpass will step down at the end of June.

The resignation comes about a year before the regular end of the World Bank chief's term. Malpass has been heavily criticized for his statements on climate change.

In September, the US economist had dodged questions about whether the burning of fossil fuels was contributing to global warming. Instead, the World Bank chief had said: "I am not a scientist."

This earned him much criticism, among others from the White House. Malpass later said he regretted his choice of words.