World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announces resignation

Decision comes three years before his current term is due to expire

WASHINGTON: World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced Monday he would step down next month, more than three years before his current term was due to expire.

"It has been a great honour to serve as president of this remarkable institution, full of passionate individuals dedicated to the mission of ending extreme poverty in our lifetime," Kim said in a statement.

Kim, who took over leadership of the global lender in 2012, is to join an as-yet unnamed firm focusing on investments in developing countries.

World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva will serve as interim president upon Kim's February 1 departure, the bank said in a statement.