IMF-WBG Annual Meetings 2026 – Governor Monticelli’s Statement to the Development Committee (Bangkok, Thailand, 15 October 2026)

The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) partakes in growing efforts to mobilise private capital for productive employment and inclusive growth. With public finances under strain and social needs rising, socially valuable projects need to become more attractive to private capital, while safeguarding affordability and accessibility.

High public debt, interest rates and debt-service costs are narrowing fiscal space, while geopolitical tensions shift priorities towards security and defence. These circumstances curtail capacity for housing, healthcare, education and other social infrastructure, even as demand grows.

We must not allow social investment to become the adjustment variable. Reducing or delaying social investment not only undermines productivity and social cohesion, but also makes economies less resilient and future crises much costlier to address.

Social investment is vital for productive and resilient societies

Approximately 22% of Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) financing commitments are directed towards core social investments in health, education, housing, water and sanitation, reflecting their contribution to human capital, employment, opportunity and resilience in times of demographic, technological and economic change. Being the only MDB with an exclusively social mandate, the CEB, as Chair of the Heads of MDBs Group in 2025, guided the preparation of the joint report “Social Infrastructure in Focus: The Role of Multilateral Development Banks”, which showed how coordinated action can increase scale and impact. Its core message remains valid: investment in people and businesses must advance together.

Because the monetary returns of social investment are rarely sufficient to attract private finance on their own, MDBs can use financing, policy engagement and partnerships to direct capital where it is most needed. Guarantees, blended finance, long-term funding and advisory support can reduce risk, strengthen project pipelines and make viable social projects bankable, while preserving measurable impact—an approach that the CEB puts into practice across its operations.

The CEB finances notably social infrastructure, but also supports expanding access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). By working through financial intermediaries and specialised microfinance providers, it reaches underserved and credit-restrained firms that are central to job creation, enabling them to invest, grow and generate quality employment.

Social economy actors connect employment with inclusion

Social economy actors are also important private-sector players: they create jobs while providing access to essential services and promoting inclusion. Cooperatives, mutual societies, associations, foundations and social enterprises represent 10% of European Union businesses and employ more than 13 million people. Their strong local presence enables them to reach vulnerable and underserved people and places.

Between 2018 and June 2026, the CEB approved €1.7 billion for 63 social economy actors and microfinance institutions in 21 countries. EU guarantees, grants and advisory services helped support projects facing significant financing constraints. Tailored instruments and partnerships with private-sector social economy actors can extend this reach and crowd in additional capital.

Capital markets connect investors with social development goals

With determined shareholders’ backing, a robust balance sheet and a triple-A rating, the CEB raises funds in global capital markets to finance social investment locally and regionally. Demand for its Social Inclusion Bonds (SIBs) shows how MDBs can channel private capital towards social goals. In 2026, the CEB issued €3.7 billion equivalent in SIBs, accounting for just over half of its annual funding volume, up from less than one fifth five years ago. To date, the total volume of SIB issuances since 2017 has exceeded €17 billion across 10 currencies. Proceeds support eligible loans for education, healthcare, affordable housing, and micro and small businesses. SIBs help develop the social bond market and broaden the CEB’s investor base.

Building on this experience, the CEB is collaborating in earnest with other MDBs, investors, market associations, international organisations and academic institutions to develop practical principles for integrating just transition considerations into green, social, sustainability, sustainability-linked and transition bonds. These principles will guide the identification of eligible investments and affected communities, as well as transparent reporting, helping capital markets support a transition that is both climate-aligned and socially inclusive.

Strengthening joint MDB action

The shared ambition is to build a more robust pipeline of social projects. MDBs can deliver impact together by improving project preparation and developing joint pipelines; expanding blended-finance structures suited to social sectors; and aligning approaches to measure results, so that mobilisation is measured not only by the amount of capital raised but also by development outcomes.

With its focused social mandate and expertise, the CEB stands ready to contribute. Deeper MDB coordination—combining complementary instruments, sharing risk and building projects together—can direct more private capital towards creating jobs and stronger communities.