21
DECEMBER 2004 World Bank Pulling Back on Transparency
Pilot Project The
World Bank's board of executive directors is resisting pro-transparency
reforms recommended by Bank president James Wolfensohn,
cutting back particularly on his proposals to experiment
with the release of "draft" materials. More
>>
21
DECEMBER 2004
IFC Reformulates Draft Disclosure Policy, Slightly The
International Finance Corporation, having previously described
its proposals for disclosure of information in a "concept
paper" has now reformulated its thinking in a "working
draft." More >>
21
DECEMBER 2004
IFC Provides freedominfo.org With Draft Confidentiality
Agreement The
World Bank's private lending arm, the International Finance
Corporation, uses confidentiality agreements with its clients
to protect business information from disclosure, but treats
such information as confidential with or without such agreements,
according to an IFC explanation provided to freedominfo.org.
More >>
5
NOVEMBER 2004 ADB Issues Second Draft of Revised
Disclosure Policy
The Asian Development Bank on Oct. 25 issued a second version
of its proposed "Public Communications Policy,"
making a variety of improvements from the first draft. More
>>
30
SEPTEMBER 2004 Activists Criticize IFC Consultations;
IFC Expands Consultations The International Finance Corporation has increased the
number of consultations it will hold on proposed disclosure
and safeguard policy revisions after the outreach process
came under criticism by activists as inadequate and rushed.More >>
30
SEPTEMBER 2004 Parliamentarians Seek Larger Role
in IFI Decision-Making Parliamentarians around the world are intensifying their
request to be "systematically involved in formulating
and monitoring development policies related to IMF and World
Bank operations within their own countries."More >>
7
SEPTEMBER 2004 IFC Issues Broad Guidelines for New
Disclosure Policy The
International Finance Corporation, the World Bank's private
sector lending arm, has issued a "concept paper"
on disclosure policy, outlining "principles,"
"objectives," and "frameworks," but
providing few specifics and making few changes in current
policies.More >>
6
AUGUST 2004 World Bank Backs More Transparency
for Oil Revenues While deciding to continue investing in oil, gas and mining
ventures, against the advice of an internal report, the
World Bank Board of Directors Aug. 3 said it would insist
on greater transparency about the revenues from such projects.More >>
6
AUGUST 2004 IFC Discusses "Concept Paper"
on Disclosure Policy The International Finance Corporation, having announced
plans to review its six-year-old disclosure policy, appears
to be starting with a very general statement of concepts
likely to disappoint transparency advocates.More
>>
21
JULY 2004 ADB
Holds Consultation in Washington The
deadline for the Asian Development Bank to rewrite its disclosure
has been pushed back for a second time, with completion
now targeted for March 2004.This was one bit of news from
ADB officials during a June 21 consultation with about 30
persons about the draft disclosure policy held in Washington,
D.C.More >>
21
JULY 2004 ADB
Announces Grants for Civil Society Participation in Government
Processes The Asian Development Bank July 2 announced a $400,000 technical
assistance grant to "help make public service delivery
more responsive to the poor by promoting greater civil society
participation in resource allocation and budgeting."More >>
21
JULY 2004 EIB
Board Discusses Transparency, Offers Some Reforms The
European Investment Bank Board of Directors has taken some
steps toward disclosing some additional documents and more
financial information about by key bank officials. More
>>
9
JUNE 2004 ADB at Midway Point in Consultations
on Disclosure Policy The Asian Development Bank is now about midway through its
consultations concerning its proposals to change its disclosure
policies. In a second report on the consultations, freedominfo.org
covered the May 13 and 14 sessions in Hanoi. More
>>
7
JUNE 2004 NGOs Criticize EIB on Transparency,
Other Grounds A coalition of nongovernmental organizations June 1 issued
a broad critique of the European Investment Bank, including
the criticism that the EIB is "the least transparent,
least accountable and least democratically controlled institution
in the family of agencies entrusted with implementing EU
policies and among public financial institutions."More >>
28
MAY 2004 World Bank Board Poised for Breakthrough
on Disclosing Draft Documents The
World Bank Executive Board is poised to consider three significant
improvements in its disclosure policy, including the experimental
release of certain key staff documents at the same time
they are sent to the board.More
>>
6
MAY 2004 ADB Holds First Consultation on Public
Communications Policy The
Asian Development Bank (ADB) met with Indonesian organizations
in Jakarta April 27 to discuss its draft Public Communication
Policy. Nongovernmental organizations involved in the first
of 12 planned ADB consultations came to the conclusion that
they were pleased with the ADB's proposals to release some
information that used to be secret, but still have reservations.More >>
13
APRIL 2004 African Development Bank Issues
New Disclosure Policy The
African Development Bank on March 30, 2004 published a new
disclosure policy going further than other international
financial institutions in the release of draft documents.More >>
13
APRIL 2004 EU Parliamentary Committee Rejects
Criticisms of EIB A committee of the European Parliament on April 6, 2004
rejected virtually all of the criticisms of the European
Investment Bank by Spanish delegate Monica Ridruejo. More
>>
18
MARCH 2004 EU Committee Defers Action on Report
Critical of the EIB A
committee of the European Parliament, to the surprise of
some observers, did not flatly reject Spanish parliamentarian
Monica Ridruejo's critical report about governance and transparency
at the European Investment Bank. More
>>
15
MARCH 2004 Spanish Member of European Parliament
Criticizes European Investment Bank The
European Investment Bank "fails to comply with good
corporate governance" and does not disclose enough
information to the public, according to controversial criticisms
in a report prepared by a Spanish member of the European
Parliament, Monica Ridruejo. More
>>
10
MARCH 2004 World Bank Staff Backs More Disclosure
by Extractive Industries The
World Bank Group should begin requiring that extractive
industries receiving Bank loans disclose what payments they
make to governments, according to an internal Bank document
obtained by freedominfo.org. More
>>
24
FEBRUARY 2004 Parliamentarians Flex Growing Organization,
Make Request of Bank The
chairman of an international group of parliamentarians has
asked the World Bank to help assure a larger role for legislatures
in setting the poverty-fighting strategies within their
countries. More >>
10
FEBRUARY 2004 World Bank Board to Meet in March
on Disclosure Policy
The World Bank Executive Board will return to the topic
of disclosure policy at a meeting in March 2004, to again
address whether to disclose more draft documents and board
minutes. More >>
10
FEBRUARY 2004 World Bank Divided on Disclosure
of Country Performance Ratings The World Bank is considering making a small step toward
disclosing more information about its "country performance
ratings" for the 81 poorest borrowing countries, but
a minority of executive directors appears to have successfully
resisted full disclosure. More
>>
10
FEBRUARY 2004 IFC Announces Disclosure Policy
Review, Seeks Comments The International Finance Corporation, the private sector
lending wing of the World Bank, said in mid-January that
it would accept comments on its current disclosure policy
until March 12. More >>
10
FEBRUARY 2004 IFC Rejects Request to Translate
Document into Hindi The International Finance Corporation recently rejected
a request by an Indian group to translate an environmental
report about a hydropower project into the local language,
Hindi. More >>
The
Chashma Right Bank Irrigation Project in Pakistan commenced
in 1978. (Photo: Asian Development Bank)
ABOUT
IFTI WATCH In
this column, Washington, D.C.-based journalist Toby
J. McIntosh reports on the latest developments
in information disclosure in International Financial
and Trade Institutions (IFTI).
Contact: tmcintosh@bna.com or
1-(202) 452-4498
