MDBs and IFIs maintain strong financial positions, joint report finds
Multilateral development banks (MDBs) and international financial institutions (IFIs) maintained strong capital and liquidity positions from 2023 to 2025, amid rising global uncertainty, higher energy prices, and supply-chain disruptions. This is the main finding of the Multilateral Development Banks Comparison Report 2026, published on 14 October.
The report gives shareholders and G20 members a standardised overview of MDB and IFI financial strength, covering liquidity, credit ratings, leverage and risk management. For the first time, it tracks key indicators over three years.
As an IFI, the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) contributes to the report as part of its commitment to strengthening the MDB and IFI system and to supporting sustainable development in its member countries and globally.
“The annual MDB Comparison Report, in which NIB’s data, compiled under the coordination of Quantitative Risk Management, is compared with that of our peers, is a very useful tool for understanding balance sheet composition, business approaches and key metrics across the community. This is the third edition and the second to be published, and as in previous years, we will share it with our Board of Directors,” says Kim Skov Jensen Chief Financial Officer, Head of Treasury & Finance at NIB.
The report shows the 15 participating institutions hold nearly USD 1.5 trillion in development assets, including loans, equity investments, and guarantees. These are supported by USD 163 billion in paid-in capital from shareholders, equivalent to more than USD 9 for every USD 1 contributed.
Their financial strength allows MDBs and IFIs to remain a stable source of funding when economies come under strain. Most institutions kept non-performing loans below 2%, and liquidity buffers remain substantial, covering short- to medium-term debt 2.6 times over.
Institutions participating in the 2026 report are the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, Council of Europe Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, IDB Invest, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Development Association, International Finance Corporation, Islamic Development Bank, New Development Bank, and Nordic Investment Bank.
The Comparison Report is an exercise carried out by the Global Risk and Finance Forum (GRaFF), which brings together Chief Risk Officers and Chief Financial Officers of MDBs and IFIs. This year’s edition report was coordinated by the Asian Development Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.