International financial institutions

9 min readAug 2, 2021

An international financial institution (IFI) is a financial institution that has been established (or chartered) by more than one country, and hence is subject to international law. Its owners or shareholders are generally national governments, although other international institutions and other organizations occasionally figure as shareholders. The most prominent IFIs are creations of multiple nations, although some bilateral financial institutions (created by two countries) exist and are technically IFIs. The best known IFIs were established after World War II to assist in the reconstruction of Europe and provide mechanisms for international cooperation in managing the global financial system.

Types[edit]

Multilateral Development Banks[edit]

This article duplicates the scope of other articles. Please discuss this issue on the talk page and edit it to conform with Wikipedia’s Manual of Style. (June 2013)

A multilateral development bank (MDB) is an institution, created by a group of countries, that provides financing and professional advice to enhance development. An MDB has many members, including developed donor countries and developing borrower countries. MDBs finance projects through long-term loans at market rates, very-long-term loans below market rates (also known as credits), and grants.

The following are usually classified as the main MDBs:

World Bank
European Investment Bank (EIB)
Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
CAF — Development Bank of Latin America (CAF)
Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB, IADB)
African Development Bank (AfDB)
New Development Bank (NDB)
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP)
Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB)

There are also several “sub-regional” multilateral development banks. Their membership typically includes only borrowing nations. The banks lend to their members, borrowing from the international capital markets. Because there is effectively shared responsibility for repayment, the banks can often borrow more cheaply than could any one member nation. These banks include:

Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)
Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI)
East African Development Bank (EADB)
West African Development Bank (BOAD)
Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB)
Economic Cooperation Organization Trade and Development Bank (ETDB)
Eurasian Development Bank (EDB)
North American Development Bank (Nadbank)

There are also several multilateral financial institutions (MFIs). MFIs are similar to MDBs but they are sometimes separated since they have more limited memberships and often focus on financing certain types of projects.

Bretton Woods institutions[edit]

Main article: Bretton Woods system

The best-known IFIs were established after World War II to assist in the reconstruction of Europe and provide mechanisms for international cooperation in managing the global financial system. They include the World Bank, the IMF, and the International Finance Corporation. Today the largest IFI in the world is the European Investment Bank which lent 61 billion euros to global projects in 2011.

FoundedNamewww AddressNotesHQ1944IMF International Monetary Fund http://www.imf.org[permanent dead link] Specialised agency of the UNWashington, DC1944IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development http://www.worldbank.org World Bank Group, Specialised agency of the UNWashington, DC1956IFC International Finance Corporation http://www.ifc.org World Bank GroupWashington, DC1960IDA International Development Association http://www.worldbank.org/ida World Bank GroupWashington, DC1966ICSID, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes http://icsid.worldbank.org/ICSID/Index.jsp World Bank GroupWashington, DC1988MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency http://www.miga.org World Bank GroupWashington, DC1995GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, basis for the creation of World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/06-gatt_e.htm http://wto.org[permanent dead link] The GATT is not an organisation. The WTO is not a United Nations agency Geneva for the WTO

Regional development banks[edit]

The regional development banks consist of several regional institutions that have functions similar to the World Bank group’s activities, but with particular focus on a specific region. Shareholders usually consist of the regional countries plus the major donor countries. The best-known of these regional banks cover regions that roughly correspond to United Nations regional groupings, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank; the African Development Bank; the Central American Bank for Economic Integration; and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The Islamic Development Bank is among the leading multilateral development banks. IsDB is the only multilateral development bank after the World Bank that is global in terms of its membership. 56 member countries of IsDB are spread over Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America

International financial institutions

Contents

Types[edit]

Multilateral Development Banks[edit]

Bretton Woods institutions[edit]

Regional development banks[edit]

Written by Caxec