Identifying and Classifying Public Development Banks and Development Finance Institutions by Jiajun Xu, Régis Marodon, Xinshun Ru published by AFD (11/2020).
“The present report builds on the inaugural New Structural Economics Development Financing Research Report titled “Mapping Development Finance Institutions Worldwide: Definitions, Rationales, and Varieties” to refine the qualification criteria and to propose potential classifications of public development banks (PDBs) and development finance institutions (DFIs) so as to uncover their diversities.
We aim to make two main contributions: first, to refine the qualification criteria and operational indicators of PDBs and DFIs to distinguish them from similar institutional arrangements, including state-owned commercial banks with policy functions; and second, to classify PDBs and DFIs into different categories so as to uncover the vast diversity within the PDB and DFI family. This systematic effort to identify PDBs and DFIs worldwide will lay the foundation for rigorous academic research to distinguish PDBs and DFIs from alternative institutional arrangements and clarify the distinction across subgroups of PDBs and DFIs. To achieve the above goals, the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University (INSE) has collaborated with the French Development Agency (AFD) to create synergies between academic rigor and practical experiences.
The report proceeds as follows: Section I discusses the principles of building a credible list of PDBs and DFIs. Section II clarifies the confusions regarding the qualification criteria of PDBs and DFIs in the inaugural report and proposes how to refine the qualification criteria of PDB and DFIs. Section III classifies PDBs and DFIs into different subcategories according to establishment year, geographical level of ownership and mandated operation, mandate, size of total assets, economic weight in national banking systems, financing structure, profitability, and assets per personnel. Finally, we conclude with key findings and propose future action plans of the database-building Project.”
