Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Celebrating the International Finance Corporation’s 60th Anniversary Public Disclosure Authorized NUMBER 088 ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: NOVEMBER 2016 November 2017 Public Disclosure Authorized The World Bank Group Archives Exhibit Series contains exhibits originally published on the Archives’ external website beginning in 2002. When the Archives’ website was transferred to a new platform in 2015, it was decided that older exhibits would be converted to pdf format and made available as a series on the World Bank’s external database, Documents & Reports. These exhibits, authored by World Bank archivists, highlight key events, personalities, and publications in the history of the World Bank. They also bring attention to some of the more fascinating archival records contained in the Archives’ holdings. To view current exhibits, visit the Exhibits page on the Archives’ website. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private sector arm. Created in 1956 in response to perceived capital limitations and structural challenges in the developing world, IFC is a catalyst for investment in private enterprise through its own investment and through the stimulation of private capital from other sources. While its objectives have not significantly changed over time, the variety of tools and strategies IFC employs has evolved. The IFC’s first loan was made in 1957 for $2 million to a Brazilian affiliate of German engineering company Siemens to finance the The IFC's first President, Robert manufacture of electrical equipment. Loans to L. Garner. various private enterprises for manufacturing plants, aircraft repair facilities, mining operations, and steel plants soon followed. However, in years immediately following, IFC used new ways to invest its capital and promote investment by others. In 1959, IFC initiated its first syndication loan when it mobilized $2 million from a group of banks for investment in a Brazilian pulp and paper company. Following a 1961 charter revision that granted it the authority to make equity investments, IFC assumed the role of equity investor in a variety of companies. Soon after, it focused on development finance corporations (DFCs): enabling investment in local businesses that had limited access to capital. By the 1970s, IFC was strengthening local capital markets through investment and knowledge-sharing while supporting companies, governments, and financial institutions through the provision of global advisory services. The 1980s brought focus on stock markets and private equity funds in emerging country markets and in the 1990s IFC provided important support for privatization efforts in Eastern Europe. In 2006, IFC adopted its new Sustainability Framework, a group of policies and standards that promote social World Bank Group President Eugene R. Black (left) and IFC President Robert L. Garner (right). protection, environmental sustainability, and transparency. These are only a few of the highlights culled from IFC’s fascinating history. To celebrate its anniversary, IFC has published a comprehensive history, IFC: The First Six Decades, which documents its accomplishments and provides context for, and explanation of, its many activities. It also includes informative resources, such as an institutional timeline, helpful sidebars, and striking archival images – some of which were selected from the World Bank Group Archives! Ultimately, the publication provides the institution with an opportunity to communicate to others how it views itself, its mission, its legacy, and its future. You can also access IFC Annual Reports from 1957 to the present on the World Bank Group's Documents & Reports website.