Washington, D.C. /Luxembourg, June 25,
2009—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the European Investment
Bank (EIB) have signed a cooperation agreement creating a Global Emerging
Markets (GEMs) Risk Database Consortium to pool data and strengthen risk-management
practices among multilateral development banks.
The agreement formalizes the relationship between IFC and EIB in the area
of pooling loss data. It also provides a consistent framework for potential
partners, including international financial institutions (IFIs) such as
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the African Development
Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank, which will be joining the
Consortium.
“This is a great knowledge-sharing
opportunity for IFC,” said Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice President
and CEO. “We are pleased to be a part of this initiative, which will help
strengthen risk management practices worldwide.”
EIB President Philippe Maystadt said:
“In the context of promoting the development of the financial markets
in emerging countries, the GEMs Risk Database initiative will enhance the
cooperation and synergies among IFIs.”
Credit-risk data, such as default and recovery rates, have become a key
element of the risk assessment process. The initiative will expand the
universe for such information and strengthen risk management practices
among organizations. It will also provide a common platform for enhancements
and knowledge sharing.
In collaborating to create this data consortium, IFC and EIB worked to
standardize the data collection processes. They structured the data in
a way that keeps counterparts’ identities anonymous and preserves data
confidentiality. The risk database and common methodology adopted by EIB
and IFC have been reviewed independently by Standard & Poor’s and
will now be made available to other multilateral development banks.
The consortium has been jointly spearheaded
by Alain Godard, EIB Director for Financial Risk Management and Lakshmi
Shyam-Sunder, IFC Director for Corporate Risk Management who described
the initiative as especially fulfilling because it goes beyond the needs
of individual institutions and creates something of wider benefit.
About EIB
The European Investment Bank was created
by the Treaty of Rome in 1958 as the long-term lending bank of the European
Union. The task of the bank is to contribute towards the integration, balanced
development and economic and social cohesion of the EU Member States. The
EIB raises substantial volumes of funds on the capital markets which it
lends on favorable terms to projects furthering EU policy objectives. In
2008, the EIB signed loans totaling €57.6 bn.
The EIB is also active outside the European
Union. There, its lending is based on EU external cooperation and development
policies. EU Mandates are: pre-accession (Candidate and Potential Candidate
countries in the enlargement region), European Neighbourhood (Mediterranean
Neighbourhood, Russia and Eastern Neighbours), Development (Africa, Pacific
and Caribbean / Republic of South Africa), Economic Cooperation (Asia and
Latin America). Lending under these mandates focuses on private sector
development, infrastructure development, security of energy supply and
environmental sustainability.
For further information on the EIB’s
operations and new initiatives, please see www.eib.org
; and for full information on the 2008 EIB’s activities, refer to the
Annual Reports (Activity and Corporate Responsibility Report, Statistical
Report and Financial Report) downloadable at http://www.eib.org/publications.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people
to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic
growth in developing countries by
supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and
providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments.
Our new investments totaled $16.2
billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For
more information, visit www.ifc.org.
Press contacts:
IFC: Corrie Shanahan, Phone: 202-473-2258, cshanahan@ifc.org
EIB: Rainer Schlitt, Phone: ++352 4379 83328, r.schlitt@eib.org
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