The World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development was founded in 1944.
The IBRD was created at the Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire, where delegates designed institutions for postwar economic cooperation. Its original purpose was to help finance the reconstruction of countries devastated by World War II.
As European reconstruction progressed, the IBRD increasingly focused on development lending. It raises much of its funding by issuing bonds in international capital markets and lends mainly to middle-income and creditworthy lower-income countries.
The IBRD is one of five institutions in the World Bank Group. It is often confused with the entire World Bank Group, but “World Bank” technically refers to the IBRD and the International Development Association together.