Market-based sustainable finance initiatives led by members of the Sustainable Banking Network (SBN) have made significant progress in directing the financial sector toward sustainability.
... See More + The SBN Global Progress Report is based on a unique measurement framework, the first of its kind to assess sustainable finance initiatives across emerging markets. The regulatory environment supporting sustainability in Brazil is developed and ambitious, which is consistent with local circumstances, and with the country's involvement in global initiatives and commitments, such as the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (the first major United Nations conference on sustainable development), and in 2012. Sustainable finance initiatives have stemmed from voluntary industry actors, government bodies, and regulators. As early as 1995, the Ministry of the Environment facilitated and supported the commitment of five state-owned banks to voluntary guidelines entitled Protocolo Verde (Green Protocol). The Brazilian Federation of Banks (FEBRABAN) , representing both state-owned and commercial banks, joined the initiative in 2009. In 2014, the Central Bank of Brazil launched die Resolution on Social and Environmental Responsibility, which applies to all financial institutions. FEBRABAN, the Federation of Brazilian Banks, also released a protocol on Social and Environmental Responsibility (SARB14) in 2014. With the support of central bank and banking association, Brazilian financial institutions (Fls) have been advancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk management for almost a decade. To further advance the journey, the sustainable banking industry policy package could now help FIS by providing more practical guidance to assess their ESG risks and set up the appropriate governance of these risks in their organizations.
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This document is a high-level account of discussions held and conclusions reached during theroadshow. It describes 10 learnings attained over the more than two decades of experience in code development in South Africa.
... See More + Under each of these learnings, we present the South African experience as well as experiences shared in the various countries where the roadshow was conducted. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to IFC staff, regulators, and private institutions (such as institutes for directors and corporate governance) for developing codes of corporate governance in Sub-Saharan African countries and potentially other developing economies. The objective is for the insights shared in this document to support achievement of the following results: a more effective process of code development, code content that will be easier for organizations to implement, a higher degree of commitment by the users of the code and good governance that will result in better outcomes for organizations as well as the communities and countries in which they operate. This guidance document should be read in conjunction with the IFC Toolkit for Developing Corporate Governance Codes of Best Practice. Before sharing the learnings, it is important to understand the context for the application of corporate governance in Africa. This will provide perspective on why some of the learnings are vital. Organizations—the users of codes of corporate governance—operate in a broader context, which King IV calls the “triple context,” consisting of the economy, society, and natural environment in which organizations operate. In Africa, depending on the country, the triple context may appear as economic and political instability, lack of or failing infrastructure, skills shortage, inequality, water and food scarcity due to environmental vulnerability, and corruption. Furthermore, the application of corporate governance is not mature in all African countries. An IFC study on the link between governance and corporate performance examined the degree of African firms’ adherence to certain aspects of corporate governance. If those foundations are weak, it is unlikely that other areas of corporate governance could be strong. However, it is encouraging that, taken together, the firms scored above 50 percent on all five of the dimensions assessed. Organizations in Africa operate in a challenging triple context, and much work must be done to gain maturity in the corporate governance practices they follow. Codes for corporate governance should be cognizant of these realities.
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Amret Co. is a leading microfinance institution in Cambodia serving micro, small and medium enterprises and low-to-middle income populations with a focus on rural areas, agriculture and district and provincial cities.
... See More + Amret was launched in 1991, and obtained a license to operate as a deposit-taking MFI in 2009. Today, it provides a wide range of loan and deposit services to Cambodia women, farmers, small businesses, and households across 25 provinces and 197 operating districts. In March 2014, IFC evaluated Amret’s governance capabilities. Even prior to IFC’s involvement, Amret’s board and executive leadership demonstrated their strong commitment and adherence to good governance beyond compliance with local regulations. The IFC evaluation aimed at helping Amret further enhance the board’s selectiveness, optimize management controls, improve disclosure policies and practices, and develop provisions on shareholder’s rights. Management advanced on its already impressionable CG improvement program by reinforcing governance practices and raising the bar to align with international standards. Authorities were better clarified between the Board and Management. Prior to IFC’s assessment, Amret established an Audit Committee, chaired by an independent director who was nominated by minority shareholders, which met 4 times annually to review internal and external audit functions and ensure compliance with local laws. Additionally, more independent directors with commercial banking, risk management, and local market experience were recruited to improve the Board’s composition and selectiveness of the committees. The company also went above and beyond to strengthen its internal control and risk management systems with the establishment of a Risk Oversight Committee which oversees four management committees that assess credit, operational, strategy, and asset & liability risks.Furthermore, the Board codified its CG policies, developed remuneration and evaluation procedures, and made an attempt to eliminate conflicts of interest with respect to related party transactions and procurement practices with technical vendors. With a strong CG foundation, Amret was a benchmark for other financial institutions in Cambodia and perceived as more transparent and investor-friendly. This culminated in receiving A- ratings from international rating agencies including MicroFinanza and MicroRate.
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The review presents an in-depth analysis of Ukraine's intellectual property system regarding its support to technology transfer and commercialization of publicly funded research and development.
... See More + The analysis attempts to identify regulatory and framework impediments for the commercialization of publicly funded research and recommends reforms and policies that could improve the framework conditions for intellectual property (IP) and technology transfer (TT). The analysis is based on available legal, regulatory, and policy documents and information from secondary resources as well as qualitative interviews with stakeholders. The review finds that academic and publicly funded research in Ukraine rarely reaches the market due to its inherently basic research orientation; its lack of relevance to local industry needs; low capacity and demand for research by the private sector; legal, institutional, and administrative hurdles; weak culture of research commercialization; and limited incentives for commercialization of research results. Moreover, technology transfer offices and intermediaries are yet to be affective in their research commercialization efforts. Against this backdrop, the report provides a list of policy recommendations along the institutional and normative frameworks. On the institutional level, the recommendations focus on disseminating coherent IP ownership policies across public research organizations (PROs) and funding agencies; developing and implementing IP policies at the institutional level; developing competent intermediary and bridging organizations; improving monitoring of publicly funded IP activities; in addition to other areas. On the normative framework level, the recommended reforms address publicly funded IP ownership legal rules and touch upon contingent legal acts beyond IP and TT regulations. Importantly, the report calls for reforms that provide better incentives for researchers at PROs to disclose inventions, collaborate with local and international private firms, and commercialize research.
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Preferential trade agreements have boomed in recent years and extended their reach well beyond tariff reduction, to cover policy areas such as investment, competition, and intellectual property rights.
... See More + This paper uses new information on the content of preferential trade agreements to examine the trade effects of deep agreements and revisit the classic Vinerian question of trade creation and trade diversion. The results indicate that deep agreements lead to more trade creation and less trade diversion than shallow agreements. Furthermore, some provisions of deep agreements have a public good aspect and increase trade also with non-members.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8206 SEP 27, 2017
