Short answers, pulled from the story.
The IBRD was established in 1944 by delegates at the Bretton Woods Conference and became operational in 1946. Its original mission was to finance the reconstruction of European nations devastated by World War II.
The IBRD issued its inaugural loan of $250 million to France in 1947 to finance infrastructure projects. That amount is equivalent to approximately $2.6 billion in more recent dollars.
The IBRD raises most of its capital by borrowing on international capital markets through bond issues. Its triple-A credit rating, held since 1959, allows it to borrow at rates close to those of U.S. Treasury bonds. In fiscal 2019 it raised US$54.0 billion from bonds issued in 27 different currencies.
In fiscal year 2019, the IBRD's top ten borrowers were India, Indonesia, Jordan, Egypt, Argentina, China, Morocco, Turkey, Ukraine, and Colombia. The most supported sector was Public Administration.
The IBRD has 189 member states, each represented on the Board of Governors. The board typically consists of finance ministers or treasury secretaries and meets annually.
The IBRD provides commercial-grade or concessional financing to middle-income developing countries, while the IDA, established in 1960, extends low-cost and no-cost finance to the poorest developing countries. Countries with a GDP per person above US$1,145 are no longer eligible for IDA support. Together they are collectively known as the World Bank.