Trump nominates Treasury official as new World Bank president

Feb. 6 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump nominated Treasury official David Malpass Wednesday as the new president of the World Bank.

In making the announcement at the White House, Trump called Malpass a "special man."

Malpass, the Treasury Department's undersecretary of international affairs, served as deputy assistant Treasury secretary under President Ronald Reagan and deputy assistant secretary of state under President George H. W. Bush. He later was chief economist at investment bank Bear Streams, which collapsed in 2008 during the financial crisis.

Malpass has more than 40 years of experience in international economics, and has been involved in multinational dealings that include the G7 and G20 conferences. He was an adviser to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and is a longtime acquaintance of the president's.

In the Trump administration he's worked closely with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House adviser Ivanka Trump, a senior administration official told reporters on a conference call Wednesday.

The official said Malpass will travel to China with Mnuchin next week for trade negotiations. The United States and China are in the midst of talks directed at resolving their months-old trade dispute.

The World Bank, headquartered in Washington, D.C, is a global financial institution chartered to provide loans to countries for capital projects. Jim Yong Kim of South Korea left the presidential post on Feb. 1 and was replaced by interim chief Kristalina Georgieva of Bulgaria.