However, a special ministerial round table held at the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings in Singapore, ended with a strong call to donors to live up to their promises.
Legal aid would be largely withdrawn from family law, housing, welfare, debt and employment disputes, as well as from immigration work and clinical-negligence claims.
Relieving the extreme poverty of many of the world's citizens provides a compelling rationale for worldwide growth in economic output, provided the income growth actually reaches those who need it.
In these financially troubled times, bankers tend not to score too highly on the scale of public admiration, with their bonuses, bailouts and bad loans.