James Seward is a Senior Financial Officer in the Capital Markets and Investments team of the World Bank Treasury. He leads the design and implementation of financial solutions to advise emerging market governments in Africa on accessing development financing, managing financial risks, and utilizing innovative financial structures for sustainable investments. As an expert in sustainable finance, James advises on green and sustainable bonds and arranges new World Bank loans for sovereign borrowers.
He has nearly 20 years of experience at the World Bank, focusing on financial sector development globally, where he has received 14 performance awards. James has written various reports and papers, most recently a published Working Paper on central bank governance and reserve management. He was previously a World Bank Practice Manager for the Finance and Markets team in Africa, overseeing a team of 26, a lending portfolio of $1.4 billion, and 40 grants of $32.4 million in 20 countries. He was the Practice Manager of the Finance team in the East Asia and Pacific Region, managing 42 staff in 10 offices and a lending portfolio of $700 million. Before joining the World Bank, he worked on sanctions regulation and compliance at the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Middle East and North Africa portfolio at the U.S. Department of State.
He has a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Political Science and Business Administration from James Madison University. He also has a Sustainability and Climate Risk certificate from the Global Association of Risk Professionals.