IFC: Out of sight, out of mind?

Out of sight, out of mind?

The International Finance Corporation's investment through banks, private equity firms and other financial intermediaries

Briefing|Bretton Woods Project|22 November 2010

A fully-formatted PDF version of this briefing is also available.

Summary

The World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation (IFC) lending has grown enormously over the past decade, with commitments reaching a record $18 billion in the 2010 financial year. At the same time, there has been a significant shift in the way the IFC does business. Increasingly, instead of managing its loans and investments itself, it relies on financial intermediaries such as banks and private investment funds. In the 2010 financial year, finance sector lending made up over half of all new project commitments. This paper analyses IFC lending through financial intermediaries, and finds a number of causes for concern, including a worrying lack of transparency, inadequate attention to social and environmental concerns, and a failure to link directly to proven developmental impacts. It sets out recommendations for a complete reformulation of the IFC's approach.

http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/FI2010

This briefing can also be viewed as a PDF:

http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/doc/private/outofsight.pdf

This briefing is published by the Bretton Woods Project.