Old debt, new schools: the World Bank is lining up swaps that turn costly loans into classrooms and clinics

Ahead of the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok, president Ajay Banga said the bank is talking with 30 to 40 countries about crisis aid — and building a clever tool called debt-for-development swaps. Here's how they work: a country swaps expensive old debt for cheaper new debt guaranteed by the bank, and the money saved goes into education, health, water or nature programmes. Swaps for Angola and Ivory Coast are already done, with 14 or 15 more in the works. Banga also reported a record $112 billion in private capital mobilized in the year to June — though he flagged that low-income countries are still getting too small a share.