School of Finance and Management seminar series: Prof Batzokas on SDGs and multilateral development banks
Prof. Anthony Bartzokas (United Nations and Maastricht University, Research institute on Innovation and Technology UNU-MERIT) gave a presentation on “Financial Innovation and Multilateral Development Banks” at the SFM research seminar series on 15 February 2023.
The global south faces a challenge in closing the sustainable development investment gap. The focus of current policy discussions is on how to attract more investment and create favourable conditions for scaling up such investment. Development finance institutions are seen as key players in this process, with the potential to act as catalysts for expanding investment volumes. The presentation argued that there should be a greater emphasis on intensive margin of development finance and proposed a dynamic capabilities approach that focuses on using financial innovation in five areas, including loan syndications and private equity participation. The success of financial innovation is often tied to broader trends in commercial markets, and multilateral development banks can play a critical role in creating new markets. However, there are challenges in implementing supply-side promoted financial innovations due to coordination and market fragmentation issues. The presentation suggested that climate change provides an opportunity to streamline financial innovation efforts by focusing on market potential, knowledge sharing, and developing robust financial products.
