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Public Development Banks joining forces to transform the financial system towards climate and sustainability
Who we are
Our objective is to strengthen partnerships among PDBs to accelerate the convergence towards shared standards and best practices, to support banks’ commitments to shift their strategies towards sustainability, and to give PDBs more visibility in the global fora discussing international policy issues. By mobilizing PDBs and crucial stakeholders, from private sector to civil society organizations, we aim to encourage more coherent approaches to make the whole development finance system consistent with our common climate and sustainability objectives.
#FinanceinCommon2025
FiCS Summit 2025
Join us from 26-28 February 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa, for the 5th Finance in Common Summit (FiCS), co-hosted by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The 2025 summit will bring together global leaders, public development banks, the private sector, and philanthropies to reimagine and reshape sustainable finance.
FiCS 2025, themed “Fostering Infrastructure and Finance for Just and Sustainable Growth,” is a global platform for collaboration, financial innovation, and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The latest FiCS Annual Report
The latest FiCS Annual Report
FiCS 2023 Annual Report
Check out the Finance in Common's new annual report showcasing what we did in 2023, a summary of FiCS Summit 2023, and a roadmap for the next year.
NEWS & INSIGHTS
FiCS Booklet
FiCS Booklet
Check out the Finance in Common's new booklet showcasing who we are, our different workstreams, how our governance is structured, and our future objectives.
What we do
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Community of practice
To implement the Joint Declaration, FICS members joined forces within 12 Thematic Coalitions, organized around major issues of interest for PDBs, from climate to urban challenges.
These 12 Thematic Coalitions allow members to share good practices, expertise and experiences. We believe that a good community of practice can push PDBs to unleash their full potential by learning and implementing innovative strategies. Through the FICS Thematic Coalition, PDBs learn and engage amongst peers, advance collaboration on the ground, and ultimately strengthen their impact.
> Do you want to know more about a coalition ? Come here.
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The FiCS Innovation Lab
The proposed mission of the FiCS Lab is to be a platform that fosters innovation and collaboration among PDBs in mobilizing private capital and expanding climate finance, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies.
Finance in Common (FiCS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) have partnered to operationalize the FiCS Financial Innovation Lab with CPI as its secretariat. In September 2023, FiCS announced in its final communiqué the creation of a “Financial Innovation Lab”. The vision was to bring together public development banks (PDBs) and donors around an action-oriented platform to accelerate the implementation of climate finance and the broader 2030 SDG agenda.
Know more about the FiCS Lab
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International Agenda
Beyond its annual global Summit of all Public Development Banks, which aims to bring different perspectives and expertise together to discuss the most pressing issues.
FICS also participates in high-level global events on climate and sustainable development to carry the voice and perspective of PDBs within global development conversations.
Joint dEclaration
Joint dEclaration
During the initial Summit in 2020, Public Development Banks not only gathered for the first time ever, but they also signed an ambitious Joint Declaration.
In 2020, FICS gathered all PDBs worldwide for the first time during the initial FICS Summit in Paris, which led to a Joint Declaration, in which PDBs agree to shift their strategies, investment patterns, activities and operating modalities to contribute to the achievements of the SDGs and the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Since then, FICS has created a Secretariat, hosted by AFD, structured its inclusive governance through its Executive Committee, supported its now eleven Thematic Working Groups and organized other FICS summits, all to execute and implement the Joint Declaration.
PDBs Database
The Institute of New Structural Economics of Beijing University and the French Development Agency have joined hands to create the first comprehensive database on Public Development Banks and Development Financing Institutions.
Although PDBs and DFIs can play an increasingly important role in overcoming crises, tackling climate change, and promoting economic structural transformation worldwide, there is a huge gap in terms of identifying these public financial institutions and collecting relevant data on their role, functioning and effectiveness. Uncovering this blind spot of the global financial architecture is central to building a coalition to shift resource flows towards sustainable development. The database aims to fill in this gap.
PDBs are making “last mile” banking a reality, as most of them operate at a national (52%) and sub-national (22%) level and have deep roots in local economic and social fabrics.
Public Development Banks at a glance
530+ PDBs
in 2024
$23 Trillion
in assets
10 to 12%
of annual world investment
Where in the world are pbd’s?
Knowledge center
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What are Public Development Banks?
PDBs are state-owned financial institutions that aim to support economic development in a country or region.
PDBs share four characteristics:
- They enjoy independent legal status and financial autonomy.
- They are controlled or supported by central or local governments.
- They execute a public mandate, addressing market inconsistencies.
- They are not engaged in commercial banking, individual bank accounts or consumer credit.
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Why are they important?
With their public policy-oriented mandate, experience in financing development and long-term focus, PDBs play a unique role in leveraging public finance to address market failures and aligning financial flows towards sustainable development. In times of crisis, PDBs have a counter-cyclical role, as highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic where they mobilized a record level of financing, increasing their total investments by at least 15% compared to 2019. PDBs act as SDGs enablers, working to preserve common goods, increase resilience, and deliver the institutional change and real economic outcomes needed to help turn the SDGs into reality.
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What is FICS doing through its research agenda?
To further understand these financial institutions, the Research Initiative on Public Development Banks mobilizes over 20 academics and think tanks under a dedicated research agenda. The objective of this initiative is to advance the understanding on the role of PDBs and their contribution to the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement objectives. Multiple research papers have been produced, and they are usually presented during a research conference, taking place a day prior to the FICS summit, to enrich the upcoming policy dialogues and decision-making.