James Seward
World Bank Treasury
Senior Financial Officer
James Seward is a Senior Financial Officer in the Capital Markets and Investments team of the World Bank Treasury. He leads the Treasury’s work in Africa to design and implement financial solutions to help emerging market governments access development financing, manage financial risks, and utilize innovative financial structures for sustainable investments. James has over 18 years of experience at the World Bank, focused on financial sector development. His prior positions included 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 also the Practice Manager of the Finance team in East Asia and Pacific Region, managing 42 staff in 10 offices and a lending portfolio of $700 million. James has worked on a range of policy issues, including financial stability, banking reform, regulation, supervision, building financial markets, and expanding access to finance. His professional experience before joining the World Bank was with the U.S. Departments of Treasury and State. He has a master’s degree from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree from James Madison University.