In October 2023, ahead of the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings in Marrakech, CGD unveiled a groundbreaking tool—the Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) Reform Tracker.
Now, in the run-up to the World Bank-IMF 2024 Annual Meetings, CGD has released an updated and greatly expanded Reform Tracker. The aim is to provide a comprehensive, independently sourced tool to help MDB shareholders, managers, and other stakeholders evaluate progress as objectively as possible. The focus is on reforms that can be factually and consistently assessed across different institutions.
This updated tracker explores the progress of seven of the largest MDBs—the African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank Global (EIB Global), Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDBG), and World Bank Group (WBG)—in implementing six major categories of reform.
Categories of Reform:
The 39 specific reforms within these categories are based on the reform agendas recommended in G20-commissioned work on MDB capital adequacy (here) and making MDBs bigger, better, and bolder (here and here).
Methodology
Reform progress is assessed using five criteria.
- A “not being pursued” rating indicates that there is no publicly available information that shows a reform is being pursued.
- An “announced intention” rating indicates that the MDB has publicly committed to the reform.
- A “partial progress” rating indicates that public information demonstrates that the MDB has made some progress on implementing a reform, but further actions are needed.
- An “implemented” rating indicates that key actions have been taken.
To assess progress, we use information publicly available on MDB websites or in public documents. We also asked the MDBs themselves to add information to the matrix to supplement the information we found in order to generate as accurate an assessment of progress as possible. We are grateful to the MDBs that responded to our request and provided helpful information. The online tracker is designed to allow users to scroll over individual cells to reveal links to the documents and website information used to assess progress for that cell.
Reforms that depend largely or in part on actions or decisions by shareholders are marked with an asterisk (*).
Efficient Use of Capital
In 2022, a G20-comisssioned Expert Panel published the Capital Adequacy Report. It contains recommendations for how the MDBs could expand their financing capacity using existing resources. These reform agenda items draw from that report.
Add New Forms of Capital
Even better leveraged, the current stock of MDB capital will not be sufficient to support the increased MDB lending capacity needed to help fill large SDG and climate finance gaps in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) – as evidenced by the G20 Independent Expert Group (IEG) on Strengthening the MDBs (Vol. I and Vol. II). These reforms cover the innovative use of hybrid capital instruments to expand MDB financial capacity from a variety of sources.
Expanding Mandates and Associated Shareholder Capital Expansion
This category assesses whether MDBs have integrated global challenges and climate change into their mandates and country strategies. The MDBs will also have to pursue increases in concessional and non-concessional finance to match their expanded missions.
Reporting on Impact
Assessing the effectiveness of MDBs in achieving their mandates requires consistent and transparent impact reporting at the project, country, and institutional level. By setting impact targets, MDBs define the level of their ambition and provide the development community with a standard to which they can be held accountable.
Transforming Country Engagement
These reforms track ways in which the MDBs can act with increased operational efficiency, effectiveness, and impact to strengthen their engagement with recipient countries.
Achieving a Major Expansion in Private Finance Mobilization
This reform category assesses whether MDBs are putting in place the private finance mobilization targets, upstream investment, catalytic instruments, and portfolio level approaches to mobilization that will enable them to transform their mobilization performance.