When it comes to being clear and upfront about their investments, even the best-performing development finance institutions can barely muster a passing grade in a new transparency index.
The first-ever DFI Transparency Index, released on Wednesday, found that in general these institutions provide scant evidence of impact, fail to disclose mobilization data, how much private money their investments incentivize, or even show accountability to communities, according to Publish What You Fund, a not-for-profit organization focused on aid transparency, which created the index.
Worse still, many DFIs don’t make basic information about their investments available. This is particularly true when it comes to their private sector operations.