Bush aide needs to dispel negative image for World Bank position

MOST banks pride themselves on their security, although few go as far as hiring one of the US president's top defence advisors to run the show.

But the World Bank, which will soon be headed by US deputy secretary of defence Paul Wolfowitz, is no ordinary bank.

It thinks of itself instead as a specialist agency, bringing the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) under one roof to improve living standards in developing countries and fight poverty.