Corruption is the single largest obstacle to development. It increases wealth for the few at the expense of society as a whole, leaving the poor suffering the harshest consequences by taking public resources away from those who need them most. Since 1996, we have launched hundreds of governance and anticorruption programs in nearly 100 developing countries. Initiatives range from requiring government officials to publicly declare their assets and introducing public spending reforms, to training judges and teaching investigative reporting to journalists. Our commitment to fighting corruption has helped to encourage an international response to the problem. We also continue to make anticorruption measures a central part of our analytical and operational work. We are committed to making sure that the projects we fund are free from corruption, by setting strict guidelines and providing a hotline for corruption complaints. So far, over 350 companies and individuals have been publicly banned from participating in projects that we finance. The World Bank Institute has also developed a major knowledge, learning and data center on governance and anticorruption.