Yellen discusses development banks in Paris speech

Federal Issues Department of Treasury Of Interest to Non-US Persons

On June 23, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen attended the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, during which she delivered remarks on the continuing evolution of global financial architecture. Yellen first touched upon an initiative to evolve multilateral development banks’ (MDBs) ability to tackle global challenges, including climate change, pandemics, poverty, and conflicts. She highlighted a recent achievement handled by a broad coalition of shareholders, which, according to Yellen, has the potential to unlock as much as $50 billion in additional lending capacity over the next decade and may lead to MDBs, as a system, unlocking “$200 billion in new lending capacity over the same timeframe through balance sheet measures that are either already under implementation or being deliberated.” Yellen also touched upon other initiatives relating to debt and macroeconomic stability, as well as private capital mobilization, during the summit.