The World Bank, officially the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), was one of [Page 2272]the three institutions that were conceived at the 1945 Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, conference. It was to initially aid in the reconstruction of war-torn Europe following World War II but ultimately finance development in lesser-developed countries. The World Bank has expanded since its conception to include both the IBRD and the International Development Association (IDA), and it is a part of the World Bank Group, which consists of the World Bank and three other agencies: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The World Bank Group's mission is to fight poverty and to improve the living standards of ...