The World Bank is under-resourced and needs more funds to furnish its commitments, according to World Bank president Robert Zoellick, who has appealed for finance. Zoellick said rising demand for aid had seen the bank cut its lending, with the possibility that only the very poorest countries would receive financial assistance. "As we start to get towards the middle of next year, we are going to start to face some serious constraints, and we would have to ration and obviously focus on the lowest-income countries," Zoellick said. "These are difficult times for governments, and all their budgets are stretched." While the bank had been well-capitalised prior to the global economic downturn, demands from low and middle-income countries had exceeded its US$100 billion threshold for financial provisions over three years.