Bank officials say that Mr. Wolfowitz has already been given an opportunity to make his case in testimony before the bank’s special committee investigating him and that the committee and board members have reviewed hundreds of pages of testimony and documents.

Bank officials familiar with the process of drafting the resolution to be adopted next week said the language was being revised in order to secure support that would be as broad as possible. At present, these officials said, support for the no-confidence resolution has come from Europe, most of Asia and Latin America.

Mr. Bennett has said that Mr. Wolfowitz would file a written statement by the end of this week countering the committee’s conclusion that he violated conflict-of-interest rules and would appear before bank officials to defend himself next week. He has been invited to do so on Tuesday.

But with an acceleration of discussions about Mr. Wolfowitz throughout the bank and between finance and development ministries and their counterparts in Washington, it appeared that time was running out for him. The vote declaring him no longer able to function as president could come Wednesday, European and bank officials said.

There had been talk in recent weeks of an arrangement in which Mr. Wolfowitz would be offered the option of resigning in return for some kind of resolution saying he acted in good faith in the handling of a pay and promotion package for Shaha Ali Riza, his companion. But on Thursday it appeared too late for such language to be included in any resolution to be adopted next week.

European officials have encouraged the United States to go along with Mr. Wolfowitz’s ouster in return for a promise that President Bush could continue the tradition of the United States picking the next president. But that possibility has not been seized by the administration in its talks with the bank.

There was no immediate response from the Bush administration on the possibility of a no-confidence vote, but officials said the dire situation for Mr. Wolfowitz had been discussed recently with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Michele Davis, Mr. Paulson’s spokeswoman, said Thursday that Mr. Paulson’s talks had been confined to ensuring a fair process for Mr. Wolfowitz. Ms. Rice’s spokesman said she was not involved in any talks about whether Mr. Wolfowitz should resign.

The bank board committee found last week that Mr. Wolfowitz violated bank rules and the terms of his contract barring conflicts of interest when he ordered a pay and promotion package for Ms. Riza upon becoming president in 2005.