WB Commitments for Developing Countries Nearly $59 bln in 2017

“Our staff this year worked to provide marked increases in financing from IDA, IFC, and MIGA. While this year we have had to actively manage IBRD lending, the Board and management are discussing approaches to ensure adequate capacity across the World Bank Group to best help countries achieve their development goals. As always, we are committed to working with our member countries and other partners to crowd in private investment and maximize resources for the poor.” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim .

Commitments from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)—which provides development knowledge to countries, combined with financing and risk management products—were at $22.6 billion in FY17. This reflects the Bank’s careful attention to ensuring continued strong capital adequacy ratios and prudent financial management into the future while responding to client countries’ most pressing development challenges.

IBRD issued $56 billion in bonds in the international capital markets to support sustainable development programs and capital market development in client countries. This included the “Mulan” bond—the first bond denominated in Special Drawing Rights to be issued in China’s domestic bond markets, supporting the internationalization of the renminbi. IBRD also issued bonds to specifically highlight the role of the private sector in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The bonds link their returns to an equity index of companies that support the SDGs in their operations.

Commitments from the International Development Association (IDA),which provides zero or low-interest loans and grants to the world’s 77 poorest countries, hit $19.5 billion in FY17. FY17 continued to reflect very high demand for IDA financing from clients, fully committing the three-year resource envelope of IDA17.

Preliminary and unaudited data as of June 30 indicated that the International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s long-term investments totaled approximately $18.7 billion, including funds mobilized from other investors. In FY17, IFC made nearly $11.9 billion in long-term investments from its own account and mobilized about $6.8 billion from other investors. These often-complex investments supported 342 long-term finance projects in developing countries around the world.

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the World Bank Group, issued a record $4.8 billion in guarantees in FY17 in support of 33 projects, helping draw in $15.9 billion in foreign private capital to developing countries. The projects will collectively help avoid an estimated 1.1 million tons of CO2e in greenhouse gas emissions, increase delivery or improve quality of electricity for 8.5 million people, and deliver health care to 8.7 million patients annually. MIGA’s total gross outstanding exposure at the end of FY17 was a record high $17.8 billion in support of 144 projects across the world, representing an increase by 25 percent from FY16.