Posts Tagged ‘disclosure policy’
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9 August 2005
Pakistan Newspaper Reports on Nonpublic World Bank Document
A newspaper in Pakistan has written about a nonpublic World Bank report evaluating ten years of World Bank activities in Pakistan and shedding light on the process of preparing such major evaluations. The evaluation report is generally unfavorable to the World Bank, according to the Business Recorder, which wrote about the conclusions in a July […]
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9 August 2005
EIB Declines to Release Ukranian Framework Agreement
The European Investment Bank has declined to release the text of a framework agreement recently signed with Ukrainian leaders. Although the EIB a year ago promised the release of framework agreements (with a few caveats), officials replying to a freedominfo.org request said those caveats mean that disclosure will not occur until after the agreement is […]
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1 June 2005
Sen. Lugar Stresses Transparency in MDB Replenishment Legislation
The Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar (R-Ind), has made transparency reforms the central focus of legislation that also would authorize U.S. contributions to five multilateral development banks. Lugar’s bill contains instructions to the U.S. representatives at the five institutions, including the World Bank, and tells them to support several […]
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18 January 2005
ADB Board Getting Briefed on Disclosure Policy Proposals
The executive directors of the Asian Development Bank on Jan. 21 will discuss a “working paper” outlining plans to revamp the ADB disclosure policy that critics say remains deficient. The closed session is not intended as a decision-making meeting, but after months of drafting, the briefing signals that the policy rewrite is nearing completion. Pro-transparency […]
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30 September 2004
MIGA Intends to Review Disclosure Policies After IFC Finishes
The World Bank’s insurance branch, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, is planning to review its own disclosure policies, probably beginning early next year. MIGA’s process, expected to take a year or more, will commence once the International Finance Corporation, the Bank’s private sector lending arm, completes its ongoing disclosure policy review, according to Judith Pearce, […]
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6 August 2004
IFC Discusses "Concept Paper" on Disclosure Policy
The International Finance Corporation, having announced plans to review its six-year-old disclosure policy, appears to be starting with a very general statement of concepts likely to disappoint transparency advocates. A draft of a July 13 “Concept Paper” provided to freedominfo.org “attempts to define the framework for a new approach to disclosure issues.” The document, recently […]
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7 June 2004
EIB President Proposes Transparency, Governance Improvements
European Investment Bank President, Philippe Maystadt, June 2 proposed to publish some additional information about EIB operations and the financial interests of key EIB officials. The proposals made at the Bank’s annual meeting, include, according to Maystadt’s statement: An annual corporate governance statement, including any report of the ad-hoc ethics committee; The publication of half-yearly […]
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13 April 2004
African Development Bank Issues New Disclosure Policy
The African Development Bank on March 30, 2004 published a new disclosure policy going further than other international financial institutions in the release of draft documents. The new policy is available here. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the draft AfDB policy announced in October was the flirtation with the release of draft Country Strategy […]
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10 March 2004
ADB Offers Draft Transparency Policy, Requests More Comment
The Asian Development Bank has issued a proposal to revise its disclosure policies and called for further public comment by May 28. Although the Feb. 28 draft does not propose dramatic changes, such as the disclosure of certain key draft documents, it does include numerous suggestions for more disclosure. The accompanying report is exuberant about […]
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10 March 2004
World Bank Staff Backs More Disclosure by Extractive Industries
The World Bank Group should begin requiring that extractive industries receiving Bank loans disclose what payments they make to governments, according to an internal Bank document obtained by freedominfo.org. The revenue disclosures, however, should not begin for two years for existing loans, according to Bank staff recommendations, the "draft management response" to external and internal […]
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10 February 2004
IFC Announces Disclosure Policy Review, Seeks Comments
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector lending wing of the World Bank, said in mid-January that it would accept comments on its current disclosure policy until March 12. The call for public comments in a period of less than two months appeared on the IFC web site, but was not announced by an IFC […]
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1 October 2003
IMF Decides Against Mandatory Disclosure of Article IV Reports
The International Monetary Fund executive board has decided not to require the disclosure of a key document, the Article IV staff report. The board opted instead to say that publication of the Article IV reports is "voluntary by presumed." This new formulation very slightly ratchets up the existing policy of voluntary disclosure while still permitting […]
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1 July 2003
IMF Board Requests Research on Legality of Mandatory Disclosure
The International Monetary Fund Executive Board has asked its staff to study whether there are legal impediments to requiring countries to disclose certain documents, according to informed sources. The research effort is an outgrowth of a debate at a June 27 Board meeting, held to review its disclosure policy. One topic on the table, for […]
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1 July 2003
World Bank Reviews Disclosure Policy, Postpones Action on U.S. Reform Ideas
The World Bank’s Executive Board has asked its staff to examine several transparency issues raised by the United States and other members, including the possibility of releasing draft documents prior to board discussions and disclosure of board minutes, according to informed sources. The ideas for expanded disclosure were raised when the Board on July 3 […]
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1 May 2003
EBRD Modifies Disclosure Policy; US Says Reforms Insufficient
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development April 29 approved amendments to its Public Information Policy over the objections of the United States. Specifically, the United States urged the bank to release draft versions of proposed country strategies before they are sent to the executive board for approval. The United States also pushed for the […]
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1 April 2003
IDB Extends Comment Period on New Disclosure Policy
Evidence of the collaboration between development policy NGOs and FOIA-oriented groups is seen in letters sent to the Inter-American Development Bank about its proposed new information disclosure policy. The IDB has extended the comment period until April 15. A series of consultations also are being planned. Extensive comments were generated by the Bank Information Center. […]
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1 April 2003
New Matrix Examines IFI Disclosure Policies in Fresh Detail
A new microscope being applied to international financial institutions is making it possible for the first time to see their information disclosure policies in high definition. A 255-item matrix, focused on 10 institutions, is making possible the most sophisticated comparison ever of transparency policies. The preliminary findings indicate many common weaknesses – few open meetings, […]
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1 January 2003
Civil Sector Groups Criticize New EIB Disclosure Policy
CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth International Dec. 4 charged that the European Investment Bank’s new information policy “fails to live up to expectations” and after two years in the making is “only a slight improvement over the previous one.” “It’s amazing how vague the new policy is,” said Magda Stoczkiewicz, EIB Campaign […]
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1 January 2003
IMF Sets Stage for June Reconsideration of Article IV Disclosure
In June 2003, the IMF Executive Board is planning to reconsider whether to force the release of more, maybe all, Article IV reports, the country-specific assessments that guide IMF lending. The IMF has edged slowly to this point and the IMF staff is continuing to study its disclosure policies. The Board, in a Sept. 27, […]
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1 January 2003
Most Investment Banks at Some Stage of Reviewing Disclosure Policies
Most international financial institutions are engaged in reviewing their information disclosure policies, according to a freedominfo.org survey. The banks’ reform efforts are at various stages, and their plans continue to face criticism from nongovernmental institutions. In surveying activity at various banks, freedominfo.org has learned that the Asian Development Bank, whose disclosure policy web page has […]