The MDB reform programme will be taken up at the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors‘ (FMCGB) meeting in Marrakech under India’s presidency on October 12-13.
The reforms blueprint is derived from the report of the Independent Expert Group (IEG), co-chaired by 15th Finance Commission chairman NK Singh and former US treasury secretary Larry Summers, set up by the G20.
The group recently submitted the second volume of its report outlining a roadmap for implementation of MDB reforms.
The panel was set up under India’s G20 presidency with a mandate to develop a road map for an updated MDB ecosystem – with milestones and timelines – that includes recommendations on the vision statement, incentive structure, operational approaches, and financial capacity.
The G20 FMCBG meet, the last such meeting under the Indian presidency, will discuss the contours of the proposed roadmap at its meeting.Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired a meeting with the heads of MDBs last Friday in the run-up to the upcoming Marrakech ministerial to discuss the reforms suggested by the IEG.Some MDBs have already begun work on the IEG recommendations and are expected to adopt these after shareholder approvals, said one of the persons quoted above.
“There is a wider acceptance of the need to carry out such reforms… Most MDBs have shown inclination and will take proposals to their shareholders,” the person said, adding that enhanced use of private capital and wider instruments such as hybrid capital is in focus.
Some countries have expressed reservations on the proposed reform roadmap. Their concerns and issues raised would also figure in discussions at the ministerial, the person said.
The Development Committee of the World Bank has proposed the creation of an additional annual lending capacity of more than $100 billion over the next decade for the multilateral lender to run a more inclusive agenda on climate change and poverty alleviation.
