World Bank lend­ing hit a record high in the fis­cal year just ended. The Bank says that they have increased lend­ing in response to the global eco­nomic reces­sion. $58.8 bil­lion in loans have been made in the fis­cal year 2009, that is a 54 per­cent increase.

From this AFP story that we found at the Hin­dus­tan Times, we find a quote from bank direc­tor Robert Zoel­lick and a fur­ther break­down of the numbers.

“Mil­lions of peo­ple are still suf­fer­ing, and we must con­tinue to help coun­tries safe­guard pri­or­ity expen­di­tures, includ­ing on essen­tial infra­struc­ture, invest­ment in human cap­i­tal, and social safety nets, or we will fur­ther jeop­ar­dize hard-fought gains over recent years in over­com­ing poverty,” he said.

For 2009, the bank sup­ported 767 projects to pro­mote eco­nomic growth, fight poverty, and assist pri­vate businesses.

It included $ 20.7 bil­lion in infra­struc­ture financ­ing, a crit­i­cal sec­tor to pro­vide the foun­da­tion for rapid recov­ery from the cri­sis and job cre­ation, the bank said in a statement.

Sup­port for safety nets and other social pro­tec­tion pro­grams totaled $ 4.5 billion.

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