History of the World Bank The WB was created by the Bretton Woods Conference and evolved by adding additional institutions as additional tasks were identified. The initial objective of the WB was to provide loans for the rebuilding of Europe after WWII, later lending is provided to developing countries to foster development. Membership in the IMF is a prerequisite to be member of the WB and the source of the funds it provides are membership subscription quotas, international capital market borrowing (bonds), repayment of loans and retained earnings. The institutions that form the WB group today are: 1. IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Deve