Kim on track to lead World Bank Jim Yong Kim, the US nominee, seems certain to become the next president of the World Bank after developing countries failed in an effort to unite behind a single candidate. José Antonio Ocampo, the former Colombian finance minister, withdrew from contention and endorsed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Nigerian finance minister, after she won wider support among a group of developing countries on Friday. But the effort to present a united front for the developing world fell apart as Russia - part of the Brics group of large emerging economies - said that it would back Dr Kim and other nations, notably India, wavered as their broader diplomatic interests with the US came to the fore. "Taking into account [Dr] Kim's considerable professional qualities as well as his experience and knowledge, the Russian Federation will support the candidacy of Jim Yong Kim during the voting by the bank's board of directors," the Russian finance ministry said, according to Reuters. The World Bank's executive board met on Friday to discuss interviews given by the three candidates. Dr Kim, a health expert and president of Dartmouth College, is likely to emerge as the new president as early as Monday after the board takes a straw poll. Voting power is heavily weighted towards the US, Japan and western European countries, and it is traditional that an American heads the World Bank while a European runs the International Monetary Fund, making it hard for a non-US candidate to prevail. The ultimate decision will be made by consensus once the weight of voting support is clear. The failure to coalesce behind Ms Okonjo-Iweala marks another occasion when the interests of emerging economies proved too divergent for them to unite. Earlier on Friday, Guido Mantega, the Brazilian finance minister, suggested that the Brics still hoped to reach a joint position. "Brazil is talking to the Brics," Mr Mantega said. None of the four have a position yet but we are discussing it, we should have a position today. An Indian foreign ministry official told the Financial Times that India had not decided who to back. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official added that India would support the "winning horse" - indicating that it would back an emerging markets candidate only if developed countries were also in favour of such a move. On Thursday, Mexico said that it supported Dr Kim, who has toured national capitals tirelessly in recent weeks, swinging a constituency of Spanish-speaking countries behind the US candidate. As he withdrew, Mr Ocampo launched an attack on the selection process. He said it was not fully open, transparent and merit-based. "As we move into the final phase, it is clear that the process is shifting from a strict merit-based competition, in which my candidacy stood on strong grounds, into a more political-oriented exercise," he said. "Dr Kim has travelled around the world meeting with leaders in developing, emerging and advanced economies to discuss how the bank can best promote growth, combat poverty and create jobs in developing nations," said a US Treasury spokesperson. His credentials and outreach have resulted in strong support for his candidacy.