Embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said he will continue to lead bank efforts to reduce global poverty, resisting calls to step down over his involvement in securing a huge pay increase for his girlfriend.
"The bank has important work to do and I will continue to do it," he said at a news conference winding up a meeting of the steering committee for the bank and the International Monetary Fund.
His refusal to step down comes despite a claim by the head of the World Bank Staff Association that he no longer has the support of the 7,000 employees it represents in Washington.
Mr Wolfowitz has been under fire since it emerged that he secured a €143,000 job for Shaha Riza at the State Department soon after he joined the World Bank in 2005.
The committee said in its closing communique that the issue was "of great concern to us all" and called on the bank board looking into the matter to complete its work.
"We have to ensure that the bank can effectively carry out its mandate and maintain its credibility and reputation as well as the motivation of its staff," the committee said.
In answering questions from reporters about whether he should resign, Mr Wolfowitz referred several times to the committee's communique and said he did not want any comments he made to get in the way of the board's work.
"I believe in the mission of this organisation, I intend to carry it out, I have had many expressions of support," he said.
Several times when asked how he could continue as head of the 185-nation lending organisation leading the fight against corruption after acknowledging a direct role in the pay increase, he referred to the communique.
After the news conference, Alison Cave, head of the World Bank Staff Association, said the group believes Mr Wolfowitz should resign. "We do not see how he can possibly regain the trust of the staff," she said.
A deputy defence secretary and one of the architects of Bush's Iraq war strategy, Mr Wolfowitz has been working behind the scenes at weekend meetings of finance ministers and central bankers to drum up support to stay in his post and presented reports to the bank's policy-setting Development Committee.
The White House has said President Bush has confidence in Mr Wolfowitz.
The US, Britain and France, whose governments have a major role in bank operations, said it was important to await the outcome of the board investigation into his actions.