World Bank Group Names New Head of Guarantee Business

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2025 – The World Bank Group today announced the appointment of Tsutomu Yamamoto as Managing Director of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), home of the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform. Yamamoto, a Japanese national, will join the agency from Mizuho Financial Group, where he is a Senior Managing Executive Officer and Head of the Global Transaction Banking Unit.

“Tsutomu Yamamoto has more than 30 years of experience in banking and finance at Mizuho,” said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. “Given the crucial role guarantees have to play in mobilizing the private sector to create jobs, his expertise will be invaluable for growing our guarantee business.”

Yamamoto has built a distinguished career in banking and international finance in both developing and advanced markets. In his current position, he plays a key role in global strategy for Mizuho. Since joining the Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, one of the predecessors of Mizuho, in 1991, he has held various positions of increasing responsibility, including executive roles in the Americas, Asia, and Europe in international finance. 

He brings extensive experience in building relationships with key stakeholders and in leading global projects. Notably, he partnered with Japan International Cooperation Agency on the co-financing of projects, advancing investment initiatives to support infrastructure development in emerging markets. As Head of the Global Transaction Banking Unit, he led service expansion in collaboration with fintech companies in India and promoted the digitalization of electronic bank guarantees. Yamamoto received a master’s degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from Keio University.

Yamamoto will assume the position held by Hiroshi Matano. Under Matano’s tenure, MIGA became the home of the new World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, bringing together guarantee products from across the World Bank Group. The total for the Guarantee Platform in FY25 was $12.3 billion, a 19 percent increase over the previous year.

He will start in his new position in early December.

About the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform   

Initiated in 2024, the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform consolidates guarantee products and experts from across the World Bank Group at MIGA. It provides a simplified and comprehensive menu of guarantee solutions, enabling clients to select the instrument that best suits their needs. The platform streamlines processes, removes redundancies, and provides greater accessibility by de-risking investments in developing countries. Its goal is to boost the World Bank Group’s annual guarantee issuance to $20 billion by 2030.

For more information about the guarantee platform, please visit: https://www.worldbank.org/wbgguarantees.

Stay updated and follow us at https://x.com/MIGA and https://www.linkedin.com/company/wb-miga   

Contact:   

In Washington: Elizabeth Howton, (202) 458-5922 or ehowton@worldbankgroup.org