Seventy-five is an age at which many look back with a mixture of satisfaction and regret — and, perhaps, feel grateful they are still alive. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were founded at a conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in the summer of 1944. They have managed to find new roles and maintain their relevance as the global economy has completely changed around them.

Their newest challenge may be one of their hardest. The US, often the anchor of global multilateralism, has taken an aggressive turn towards the unilateral under Donald Trump. Both organisations — and particularly the World Bank — need to demonstrate their indispensability.

The IMF has the easier task. After the collapse of the fixed exchange rate system it was set up to administer, the fund eventually found a new life as a rescue lender to governments with balance of payments or other financial crises.