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Presented by RestoringVision | At the Spring Meetings, a new platform for borrowing countries offered a bit of agency.
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It’s been a week of back-to-back panels, hallway catch-ups, and quick conversations at the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings — alongside moderating a series of conversations about where development finance is headed with colleagues at our Capital Summit, which wrapped yesterday. For me, that’s meant 12-hour days, a lot of new leads, and the chance to get a pulse on how the industry is changing, including at receptions such as our Power 50 gathering earlier this week. 
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Merger mystery
I’ve been digging and found out some more details on the World Bank reorganization. While it’s all happening pretty quietly — and is perhaps getting drowned out by a war and a sector in flux — this is not a minor tweak. By all accounts, the “One World Bank Group” strategy to restructure and combine parts of the bank’s public and private sector operations is a major shift, and sources tell me it's causing plenty of internal turmoil.
I learned that the bank has merged private and public sector teams working on environmental and social, or E&S, policies, including those responsible for evaluating and managing project risks in those areas. That’s part of a broader push to integrate departments across the institution. But it’s more than just combining teams: It turns out that these changes also mean the bank plans to cut about 10% of its roughly 825 E&S staff members. I asked Maninder Gill, the global director for the World Bank’s environmental and social framework, about the changes. He insisted no one is being outright fired, but said the bank will incentivize some staff to leave — particularly in sectors where the bank sees a surplus of capacity — while hiring in teams that are stretched. Senior management, he said, has made clear E&S remains a priority and budget will hold. “It’s a thoughtful, slow, elaborate process,” he told me when I caught him after a panel at the World Bank yesterday. “The idea is that it is an opportunity to really reinfuse the whole practice and revive it.” On paper, bringing teams together should mean more learning and less duplication. But not everyone is convinced. At an event with Gill, civil society representatives warned the bank not to adopt what they see as private sector-focused International Finance Corporation’s weaker culture on transparency and accountability — a concern that’s been bubbling as these teams merge. Several representatives expressed concerns that staff reductions would undermine the bank’s ability to ensure E&S safeguards are upheld. Internally, the structure is also shifting. Gill said the E&S function will be split into what he called “makers,” i.e., those who set policy and how it applies to deals, and “checkers,” whose job is to flag risks and potential problems. And it doesn’t stop there. The broader One World Bank Group revamp has meant many departments are merging, or have already been combined, including, I learned yesterday, the legal department. We had previously reported similar moves to climate teams, treasury functions, and more. One comment that stuck with me today was surprisingly basic: If you want this to work, get the fundamentals right — including how regions are defined. One civil society representative from Egypt pointed out that IFC and the World Bank’s public sector arms still map countries differently — a small detail, maybe, but exactly the kind of thing that needs to be worked out to operate smoothly and avoid confusion. ICYMI: World Bank weighs consolidating its three accountability mechanisms 
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A new look
Is the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation a development finance institution or a sovereign wealth fund? Today’s DFC falls somewhere in between, Conor Coleman, head of investments at DFC, told me yesterday. When we sat down at Devex Impact House: The Capital Summit on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings, he had a lot more to say about where DFC is heading. The top line is familiar: a bigger balance sheet post reauthorization, a push for larger deals, more flexibility — and a clear willingness to take on more risk. He framed the DFC as trying to straddle two worlds — development impact and commercial returns — because, in his view, the old model just doesn’t scale. “We’re going to have a catalytic, transformational portfolio. We’re going to have a commercial portfolio, all while looking to make an economic development impact.” After a slow year, the agency is trying to pick up the pace, Coleman said. DFC now has a $15 billion investment pipeline for this year and, after a period of rebuilding, is ready to move, he added. I asked him directly — and I think many will be watching to see whether the DFC can still claim a clear development mandate. Because, as one person put it to me yesterday, there is already a growing view that DFC is drifting away from being a DFI. Read: DFC’s Coleman shifts to larger deals, blending development and policy Background reading: Senior DFC official details agency’s plans, new vision
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Who’s in charge
One debate taking place behind closed doors is on World Bank and International Monetary Fund governance reforms – but with the dominant shareholders looking to retain power, it doesn’t look like much progress will be made.
Both institutions have been running parallel reviews. The World Bank on shareholding and the IMF on quotas — with developing countries pushing hard for a bigger voice. The Group of 77, representing 134 developing countries, has been especially vocal, but despite the pressure, neither process appears to be delivering much in the way of real change. The World Bank shareholding review has effectively wrapped up without a realignment of shares. A document discussed by the Development Committee this week says “there is not sufficient support for issuing new shares” like in 2020, and notes “the Executive Board will consider how to strengthen the preparatory process for the 2030 Shareholding Review.” The frustration from civil society on behalf of developing countries is palpable. Emma Burgisser, the economic justice policy lead at Christian Aid, who has been following these reforms closely, told me: “It’s outrageous, so unacceptable.” “If you look at that growing call that is getting stronger and stronger by such a large majority of developing countries, not just calling for World Bank – IMF governance reforms, but saying this is the number one issue in the development finance agenda,” she said. “They’re very clear that these reforms need to be more ambitious, more urgent, and now we’ve just failed this one.” And this isn’t just procedural wrangling; it has implications for how the World Bank works. For countries such as China, which keep putting money into the system without seeing increased vote share, it may reduce their incentive to contribute, and it “undermines the legitimacy and credibility of the institutions,” Burgisser said. It also means that decision-making “isn’t actually tailored to the needs and experiences of developing countries.” Over at the IMF, the quota review was at a stalemate before the board agreed to break the process into phases. The first step should be complete today if the International Monetary and Financial Committee, which advises the IMF board, adopts a set of guiding principles on quotas and governance reforms. I obtained a copy of those principles ahead of the meeting, and they reaffirm the need for a strong quota-based system to keep the IMF funded, stress legitimacy and representativeness, and emphasize that changes should be gradual and inclusive. In a statement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said future quota reviews must be tied to resource needs, with shareholding reflecting countries’ relative weight in the world economy. He called for a new quota formula for any future realignment. The push is likely the result of the U.S. seeking to retain its position of power. Sticking to the current formula would likely dilute the U.S. share. After this week, it seems the governance reset at these institutions that developing countries are hoping for remains out of reach. Better luck next time? Background reading: How the US is pushing its ‘America First’ vision at World Bank, IMF |
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MDBs in the hot seat
As official development assistance shrinks and geopolitical instability rattles global markets, European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño is making the case for a rethink of how multilateral development banks operate — emphasizing speed, coordination, and actually mobilizing private capital at scale. “Multilateral institutions more generally play a very important role in adjusting to the new reality and being as efficient as possible to make a difference on the ground,” she told me in an interview at the Devex Capital Summit. For now, she thinks MDBs need to turn their eyes to the Middle East, where the escalating conflict is raising concern about broader economic fallout. “The best development policy is stopping the war,” she said. “It is also the best health policy. It is the best economic policy. It is actually the best thing that the world could do right now.” That message is clearly resonating beyond the bank. On Thursday, 65 civil society organizations issued a statement calling for an end to the war in Iran and urging opposition to those who promote war, that countries and institutions either disengage from or withdraw from the Board of Peace. They are calling for something much bigger than business-as-usual from these institutions — including debt suspension and cancellation — warning that rising energy and food prices could deepen crises across the global south. Read: EIB chief says MDBs must move faster and cut red tape  Catch up on all of our coverage of the 2026 World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings and the Devex Capital Summit.
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Borrower code
A new U.N.-backed Borrowers’ Platform, launched by finance ministers from low- and middle-income countries, aims to give debt-stretched nations a collective voice as they grapple with a $11.7 trillion crisis. “The platform reflects the reality of today’s world,” says U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, noting that “Developing countries are rising economic actors.”
The platform seeks to rebalance the debt conversation in an arena where borrowers have a voice, writes my colleague Elissa Miolene. “For too long, the global dialogue on sovereign debt has been shaped almost entirely by creditors,” says Ahmed Kouchouk, Egypt’s finance minister. Dozens of countries now spend more on debt repayments than on health or education, while borrowing costs have surged — even from institutions like the World Bank, according to new research. The reality is that the new platform will likely not translate to immediate debt relief. Still, Eurodad’s Iolanda Fresnillo says that “it is a way they can build power, and rebalance power.” The platform has 28 member countries, and with the official launch this week, it is looking to move from concept to action. As Zambia’s U.N. representative, Chola Milambo, puts it: “Billions of lives depend on the actions that we shall take together.” Read: Developing nations launch a Borrowers’ Platform to tackle debt |
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Bienvenido de vuelta
The World Bank announced Thursday that it would resume working with the government of Venezuela. While the Latin American nation has been a member of the bank since the 1940s, its relationship with the institution was paused in 2019 amid a dispute over which government to recognize following a contested election. The last loan to Venezuela was made in 2005. That could start to answer the question of how the World Bank might reengage and work in the country. Earlier this week, Bessent said the IMF, the bank’s neighbor, had an important role to play in helping stabilize Venezuela’s economy. Related read: Venezuela’s watershed moment puts spotlight on institutions  Stay in the know with Devex Invested, our free semiweekly newsletter tracking how capital, policy, and innovation are transforming global development — now with a new weekly edition dedicated to African finance. Sign up to receive it.
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Thank you for reading this special edition of the Newswire, edited by Helen Murphy, copy edited by Nicole Tablizo, and produced by Yula Mediavillo. Have a news tip? Email [email protected].
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