10 July 2015: In the lead-up to the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signaled their intention to extend over US$400 billion in financing over the next three years and to work more closely with each other and with public and private sector partners to mobilize resources to support the achievement of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This intention follows an April 2015 joint statement in which the multilateral development banks (MDBs) state their willingness to generate needed financial resources and help the international community to achieve the proposed SDGs’ transformative vision.

The MDBs outlined their plans to make better use of their balance sheets as one way to increase their contribution to development finance. Among other innovations, the MDBs and the IMF also plan to introduce a toolkit to assess and improve tax policies, e-procurement and other instruments to improve government spending. According to the World Bank, development finance has grown from $50 billion in 2001 to $127 billion in 2015, with direct private sector investments from the MDBs increasing fourfold over this time period.

The heads of the MDBs all issued statements emphasizing their commitment to collaborate to mobilize resources in support of the proposed SDGs. IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno explained, “We all share the same goals, which include reducing poverty and inequality, promoting economic growth and productivity that creates well-paid jobs, improving social and physical infrastructure, pursuing sustainable energy policies, ensuring food security and protecting biodiversity, among other pressing challenges.”

“We need trillions, not billions, of dollars to accomplish these goals,” emphasized World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, who also called for casting away stereotypes of aid and thinking about development differently to create opportunity for all and to prepare the world to deal with climate change challenges, among others.

“We share the firm commitment of the world’s public banks to further support investment in the years ahead that contributes to achieving the SDG’s by unlocking green growth, supporting transition to cleaner energy and fostering innovation,” said Werner Hoyer, President, EIB. EBRD President, Suma Chakrabarti, similarly stressed EBRD’s commitment to galvanize private finance to support investments, particularly in infrastructure, sustainable energy and fighting climate change.

“The level of collaboration among the MDBs in preparing the FfD conference has been unprecedented, in coming up with innovative solutions to scale up development financing,” said Donald Kaberuka, President, AfDB. Takehiko Nakao, President, ADB informed that the ADB aims “to increase its financing to member countries by 50 percent” by merging concessional and non-concessional lending windows. [World Bank Press Release] [IDB Press Release][AfDB Press Release][ADB Press Release][EBRD Press Release][EIB Press Release][IISD RS Story on April 2015 Joint Statement]