World bank president Zoellick, of Naperville, to step down

World Bank President Robert Zoellick, who was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2007, said he will leave the institution when his five-year term ends June 30.

“Together we have focused on supporting developing countries to navigate crises and adjust to global economic shifts,” Zoellick, 58, said in an e-mailed statement today. Zoellick was born and raised in Naperville. “The bank is now strong, healthy and well positioned for new challenges, and so it is a natural time for me to move on and support new leadership.”

Under Zoellick's presidency, shareholders approved a capital increase providing the institution with $5.1 billion in cash to meet demand from countries hit by the global slump that followed the 2008 financial crisis. His successor may face another surge in loan requests as the European debt crisis threatens to trigger more global turmoil.

The announcement opens the competition for a job that has always been held by a U.S. national under an informal agreement that also has a European head the International Monetary Fund. Christine Lagarde, then France's finance minister, was picked over Mexican central bank Governor Agustin Carstens for the IMF job with U.S. support last year.

President Barack Obama may nominate Lawrence Summers, his former National Economic Council adviser, to replace Zoellick, two people familiar with the matter said last month. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also being considered, one of the people said.