Ep98: Uncertain Times: The Role of IFIs

In times of economic and financial crisis, commercial lending and private sector investment into emerging markets – even for projects or opportunities with sound economics and credit fundamentals – often dry up. Development finance institutions and export credit agencies are often called upon to step into the breach. While aggregate investment declines, IFIs, in effect, see a larger piece of a smaller pie. In these unprecedented times of global pandemic and meltdown of the world economies and markets, DFIs and ECAs are able to take a longer view beyond the immediate crisis and play a leading role in getting emerging markets back on track. A panel of senior representatives of leading IFIs join us to discuss what their institutions are doing to tackle the crisis. Sarah Devine and Ken Hansen, partners at Norton Rose Fulbright, moderate a panel including Tony Bakels, director of credit and special operations at FMO, Georgina Baker, vice president, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Central Asia at International Finance Corporation, Koffi Klousseh, director of project development at Africa50, Luke Lindberg, senior vice president of external engagement, The Export-Import Bank of the United States, Hristo Stovkov, head of growth capital and innovation finance at European Investment Bank and Tracey Webb, vice president structured finance and insurance at U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.