Trump pick only contender for World Bank President

US Treasury official David Malpass, who is President Donald Trump's pick to become the World Bank's new President, is the only contender in the race as a nomination deadline ended with no other challengers.

On Thursday, the bank's board of executive directors confirmed that it had received only one nomination and that Malpass, the Treasury's undersecretary for international affairs, will be considered for the position, reports Xinhua news agency. 

But he has to be approved by the board before he is officially declared as the bank's next President.

The deadline for submitting nominations ended earlier on Thursday, and the bank expects to conclude the selection process before the upcoming spring meetings in April.

In January, The World Bank outlined the selection process for the next president to replace Jim Yong Kim, who suddenly announced an early departure from the multilateral development bank.

Last month, Trump picked Malpass, calling him "a strong advocate for accountability" at the bank.

Malpass, who has criticised the World Bank before, thanked the President for selecting him to lead "the world's premier development institution".

Before joining the administration, Malpass was an economic adviser to Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. 

He has previously served as chief economist at the investment bank Bear Stearns.