The Heads of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) met yesterday in Paris, hosted by the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), which currently chairs the Heads of MDBs Group. The meeting focussed on advancing their joint efforts to address development priorities. Amid rising global uncertainty, the Heads reaffirmed their commitment to working as a system to deliver greater impact and scale, in line with their Viewpoint Note and the recommendations of the G20 Roadmap towards Better, Bigger, and More Effective MDBs.

The Roadmap outlines an ambitious vision for MDB reform to better address regional and global challenges, support job creation, and help countries achieve their development aspirations. The Heads welcomed ongoing efforts to improve the way MDBs work with clients through operational efficiency and enhanced coordination. In 2025 alone, five mutual reliance agreements have been signed, helping streamline the preparation and implementation of co-financed projects across institutions.

Private capital mobilisation remains a system-wide priority, with the last joint report of the MDBs reflecting a positive trend in volumes mobilised. To build on this momentum, the Heads reaffirmed their commitment to developing local currency lending and foreign exchange solutions. They also reaffirmed the importance of adequate risk assessment for private sector investment in emerging markets and developing economies; in this context, the valuable contribution of disaggregated statistics on credit risk published through the Global Emerging Markets Risk Database (GEMs) was recognized.

The Heads reiterated their continued commitment to implementing the recommendations of the G20 Independent Review of Multilateral Development Banks’ Capital Adequacy Frameworks (CAF). Further reform efforts by MDBs since mid-2024 have increased the additional lending headroom for development projects in all countries of operation, including high-income ones, over the next decade by more than US$250 billion, thus reaching a total of over US$650 billion.