Assets of multilateral development banks have reached $2 trillion

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has published an analytical report on the multilateral development bank (MDB) system, which examines 37 international financial institutions.

According to the study, the total assets of MDBs have reached $2 trillion, with share capital amounting to $445 billion and annual disbursements totalling around $200 billion. Over the past 25 years, the share of MDBs’ assets in global GDP has fallen from 2 per cent to 1.8 per cent, indicating a slowdown in the system’s growth relative to the global economy.

The report notes that over the past 25 years, MDBs’ assets have roughly tripled, yet their role in the global financial architecture remains limited in terms of their share of GDP.

EBRD analysts have identified nine criteria by which organisations are classified as multilateral development banks. These include intergovernmental status, long-term financing, a focus on development, the use of market-based borrowing, and the absence of a profit-maximisation objective.

The report also describes four key waves in the formation of the MDB system: from the establishment of the core institutions in the 1940s to the strengthening of the role of developing countries since 2005.

According to expert estimates, 25 of the 37 MDB headquarters are now located in countries of the Global South, reflecting the growing influence of developing economies within the international financial system.

The report emphasises that the further development of MDBs will require an expansion of capital resources, an increase in funding volumes and greater flexibility in project support instruments.