Washington, Mar 24 (IANS): The World Bank announced Friday that Jim Yong Kim from the US, together with Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Colombia's Jose Antonio Ocampo are three candidates for the bank presidency.

Jim Yong Kim, a US national and president of Dartmouth College, was nominated by the US, reported Xinhua.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian national, is currently the coordinating minister of the economy and minister of finance of Nigeria. She was nominated by South Africa.

Jose Antonio Ocampo, a Colombian national, is now a professor at Columbia University. He was nominated by Brazil.

One of them will succeed the outgoing Robert Zoellick, who plans to step down when his term expires at the end of June.

"In accordance with the procedures previously announced, the executive directors will conduct formal interviews of the three candidates in Washington during the following weeks, with the expectation of selecting the new president by consensus by the 2012 Spring Meetings," the World Bank said in a statement.

The bank approved a merit-based and transparent process for the selection of its president last year.

The 187-nation World Bank is a global financial institution focusing on reducing poverty and boosting growth in developing countries.

The US has held the Bank's presidency since its founding after World War II, while a European has always led its sister lending organization, the International Monetary Fund.