Launched: Monday, October 9, 2023. Most recent update: October 9
Tracker by Nancy Lee, Karen Mathiasen, Victoria Dimond, Rakan Aboneaaj, and Samuel Matthews.
Ahead of the highly anticipated World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings in Marrakech, CGD has unveiled a groundbreaking tool—the Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) Reform Tracker. This tracker explores how the six largest multilateral development banks—World Bank, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the European Investment Bank—are tracking against three major reform agendas:
- the G20 Independent Review of MDB’s Capital Adequacy Frameworks (CAF Report);
- the G20 Independent Experts Group Report of Strengthening the MDBs (G20 IEG); and
- the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, which closely aligns with the Bridgetown Agenda.
CGD’s tracker lists the key recommendations from each of these agendas and indicates their status at each MDB.
Methodology
By evaluating publicly available information and engaging directly with MDBs, CGD assigned each reform a rating of “no progress,” “in progress,” or “complete.”
To determine the status of the reforms, CGD reviewed publicly available information from each MDB and also consulted directly with each MDB to confirm the accuracy of the public information—we heard back from all except the Asian Development Bank.
- A “no progress” rating implies that there is no publicly available information that indicates process on a reform has occurred.
- An “in progress” rating indicates that the MDB is actively considering a reform and that this consideration is indicated in publicly available documents.
- A “complete” rating implies that the reform has been or is very close to completion (for example, MDB management may have approved a reform but further actions are required from shareholders).
The tracker
The Capital Adequacy Report was commissioned by the G20 in 2021 and published in 2022. The G20 endorsed the report in the 2022 Leaders’ Meeting, urging the “MDBs to continue to discuss options for implementing the recommendations of the G20 Independent Review of MDBs’ Capital Adequacy Frameworks within their own governance frameworks.” They reaffirmed this sentiment in 2023, calling for the report’s ambitious implementation and progress reviews at the MDBs.In analyzing how activities relate to reform, CGD has attempted to stay close to the spirit of the reform. For example, for reforms relating to how the MDBs operate as a system, this is intended to have a transformative effect on the way the MDBs work. As such, ad-hoc examples of MDBs cooperating with one another do not necessarily constitute progress.
CGD acknowledges that MDBs may have pushed forward reforms internally, but for the purposes of transparency and equity, we cannot assign credit to such efforts until they are made public.
The Summit for a New Global Financing Pact was approved by most summit participants in June 2023. This document incorporates key proposals put forward by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley in the context of her “Bridgetown Initiative.” Prime Minister Mottley launched this initiative during the 2022 UNGA meetings, focusing on the needs of small states like Barbados who are suffering the dire consequences of climate change but contributing next to nothing in global emissions, and called for significant increases in access to finance including through SDR re-allocations and changes to the global debt management architecture, including wider use of debt pause clauses. Both examples are captured in the Financing Pact.
The G20 Experts Group on Strengthening the MDBs. This set of recommendations is from Volume I of a two volume report issued by an independent experts' group to the G20 in September. Volume I, titledStrengthening the MDBs: The Triple Agenda, called for a tripling of MDB financing, the inclusion of global public goods (GPGs) in their formal mission statements, and a new window for housing and funding GPG programs. Volume 2 will be released at Marrakech.
What’s next: bookmark this page
We plan to update the tracker biannually, as well as whenever significant reform events are announced, keeping you informed about the evolving landscape of MDB reforms. Make sure to bookmark this page or sign up for our mailing list to stay up-to-date on MDB reform progress.