Development Finance Watch, Issue 114

Eurodad Newsletter 14 March 2013 – Issue #114     European Network on Debt and Development DEVELOPMENT FINANCE WATCH
	Top Story » European Parliament secures bank transparency Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) secured a big step towards the financial transparency needed to combat tax dodging last week when they made EU Finance Ministers agree on country-by-country reporting for EU banks from 2014. This represents a major victory after years of campaigning by Eurodad members and allies. The deal under the EU’s Capital Requirement Directive is timely and it can – and should – influence the final agreement on the Accounting Directive, where country-by-country reporting is still on the table.   Read more     News » Fundamental rethink required for IFC investment in the financial sector The International Finance Corporation (IFC) – the World Bank’s private sector lending arm – now accounts for more than one third of the World Bank’s work. It has investments of almost $20 billion a year – and about half of this is in the financial sector. According to a recent audit published by the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman – the IFC’s arm’s length watchdog – the IFC knows very little about the environmental and social impacts of its $10 billion a year investment in the financial sector.   Read more     News » Argentina and hedge fund embattled in ‘debt trial of the century’, Bhumika Muchhala (Third World Network) In what has been called the ‘debt trial of the century’, the protracted court battle between hedge fund NML Capital Ltd and Argentina went before an appeals panel in New York on 27 February. The debt trial against Argentina has generated vigorous debate over the role of holdout creditors in sovereign debt restructuring, the pari passu clause in debt contracts (which aims to ensure equal treatment to all creditors), and the bankruptcy concept of fairness. The court’s ruling will have substantial influence on financial stability in Argentina and on the government’s ability to fund public services. It might also become a precedent for similar cases of holdout by vulture funds.   Read more     Blog » Less than 2% of US aid to Haiti supports local firms – new report At the time of the earthquake in Haiti I was working as an advocate at the UN headquarters in New York and I recall a sense of purpose and solidarity permeating throughout the building. There was no doubt in anybody’s mind that this was a catastrophe that had to be dealt with effectively and immediately and that we would rebuild Haiti better than it was before. Three years later progress has been marred by poor planning and coordination with very little impact on the ground. This is highlighted by a recent brief from the Center for Global Development (CGD) that points out that only $1.33 of every $100 spent by the US government in Haiti reaches local firms.   Read more     News » IFI watchers strategise ahead of World Bank and IMF meetings Last week, the European International Financial Institutions Network (EuroIFInet) met in Brussels for their biannual strategy meeting. The meeting offered the chance for representatives from 20 European non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to share information updates and to coordinate actions ahead of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings, which are due to take place from 19 to 21 April 2013 in Washington, DC.   Read more		What’s New   Issue #114   14 March 2013 ACTION ALERT Oxfam’s petition ”Tell the World Bank to put a freeze on big land deals.”   FEATURED MEMBER   The Ekvilib Institute is an independent non-profit organisation that’s active in the fields of social responsibility, human rights and development cooperation.   FACTS AND FIGURES UNCTAD investment figures show that, in 2010, green field investments (start-ups) in the financial and banking industries were $46bn. On average, 63% of investment flows targeted developing countries. Source: UNCTAD (2012) World Investment Report.   QUOTE “Advocacy actions against the financing of coal mining in the North are pushing the coal sector to look for markets in Southern countries such as Mongolia. This shift of coal markets to the developing world rather than phasing out of coal mining activities globally calls for more North-South CSO cooperation.” Sukhgerel Dugersuren (OT Watch) at the EuroIFInet meeting.   EURODAD MENTIONS Eurodad was mentioned on the investment portal Moneyweb.   EURODAD IN ACTION Jesse Griffiths spoke on a panel on illicit financial flows at the NCA international conference in Oslo, Norway.   Stéphanie Colin attended the World Bank consultation on safeguards in Brussels, Belgium.     EVENTS What: Events co-organised by Eurodad at the World Social Forum 2013 in Tunis, Tunisia:   When: 28 March - Debt and Domination in the North and South - Alternatives to Austerity: Closing loopholes on tax revenue leakage   When: 29 March -From Ecodebt to Ecojustice - Ecuador, Tunisia and Europe: How to make a debt audit? - Tackling illicit financial flows from developing countries When: 30 March - Debt convergence assembly     VACANCIES ActionAid Nigeria is looking for a Tax Justice Advisor.   Oxfam seeks a Regional Coordinator for its Extractive Industries Programme.     EURODAD STAFF Tove Maria Ryding will join Eurodad on 18 March as Senior Policy Analyst.     FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!     If you have any feedback on articles, content suggestions for future issues or other thoughts, please write to: assistant@eurodad.org
We encourage our readers to circulate this newsletter to interested colleagues. If you have any problems downloading from the web and would prefer to receive documents as an e-mail attachment, please contact assistant@eurodad.org.   Eurodad’s articles are also available for re-use in other publications with reference to the original source.   Eurodad is a non-profit organisation (ASBL/VZW) based in Belgium. For a list of Eurodad member groups across Europe, or to join, see: http://eurodad.org/members

 

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