Finance in Common : a global movement for more effective, inclusive, and sustainable development finance

Published on April 27, 2026

Finance in Common (FiCS) was launched in 2020. It brings together more than 540 public development banks (PDBs) and their partners working toward a common objective: better aligning financial flows on the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. By enhancing dialogue, the sharing of practices, and coordination between institutions, FiCS is helping to make PDBs fully acknowledged players within the international financial architecture.

The FiCS and the AFD, partners since 2020

Sector : sustainable development, climate, infrastructure, financial innovation, technical assistance, research
Type of partnership : network facilitation, international advocacy, sharing of good practices, technical assistance, financial solution incubation

FiCS is an international movement created to boost cooperation between PDBs and to increase their visibility in major international forums. Through its annual summits, thematic coalitions, and operational tools, FiCS seeks to accelerate convergence toward common standards and practices for sustainable development.
Its members managed $23 trillion in assets in 2024, representing approximately 10% of total global investment flows.

Landscape of development banks

What partnership approach?

The FiCS structures its partnership with the AFD around three complementary pillars. Its annual summits bring together key stakeholders to align shared priorities, announce commitments, and showcase results. Its concrete actions (coalitions, financial instruments, technical assistance, guarantees, and research) strengthen the capacity and impact of public development banks. Finally, its presence in international forums positions these banks as central players in financing sustainable development.

The FiCS annual summits

Objective : FiCS holds summits that unite its members and partners to work toward common goals. These annual platforms are an opportunity to make financial announcements, make commitments, and present key results.

Exemple : The 2025 FiCS summit, held in Cape Town, was organized jointly by AIIB and DBSA on the theme “Fostering Infrastructure and Financing for Fair and Sustainable Growth.” About 2,000 delegates representing 85 countries attended.

FiCS actions

Objective : To mobilize coalitions, financial tools, technical assistance mechanisms, guarantee mechanisms, and research in order to build the capacities of PDBs and boost the impact of their actions for sustainable development

• The thematic coalitions of FiCS
The FiCs members are grouped into 14 thematic coalitions focused on the major issues for PDBs, such as climate change and urban development. These coalitions facilitate the sharing of practices and expertise in order to establish innovative strategies and boost their impact.

• The FiCS Financial Innovation Lab
The FiCS Financial Innovation Lab, led by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) with support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), develops financial tools tailored to developing countries. It focuses on foreign exchange risks, mixed financing, and the contribution of developing countries to their national climate objectives and risk mitigation, with the goal of helping PDBs address climate challenges.

• The FiCS Technical Assistance Hub
Since 2020, FiCS has been building the capacities of developing countries to finance sustainable development projects through its technical assistance hub. A digital catalogue, developed with AADFI, AFD, AIIB, ALIDE, EIB, Expertise France and OECD, has identified more than 25 support programs and connects PDBs with technical assistance providers.

• The Public Development Bank Guarantee Hub
The Public Development Bank Guarantee Hub was launched at COP30. Its goal is to strengthen the guarantee capacities of developing and emerging countries to better mobilize private capital for the SDGs, via a mechanism that can deploy up to $10 billion in guarantees and technical assistance support.

• Support for research on PDBs.
The Global Research Network (GRN) on PDBs brings together more than 50 researchers and 30 institutions. It has produced the first reference book on PDBs, based on more than 400 publications and policy documents.

FiCS in international forums

Objective: To position PDBs as key players in the international financial architecture by giving them a voice at COPs, UN conferences on development finance, and high-level gatherings such as the French presidency of the G7.

• The FiCS contribution to COPs
At COP30, FiCS contributed to the Baku to Belém Roadmap and launched the FiCS Energy Coalition. In this way, it illustrated the commitment of PDBs to addressing climate issues. The COP31 organized by Türkiye will be a key step in the stocktaking of the initial measures implemented since COP30 and in sharing concrete feedback.

• The United Nations Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4)
The conclusions of the Fourth United Nations Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville in 2025 confirmed the key role of PDBs in promoting a more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable financial system. FiCS made its contribution to FfD4 by publishing the report “Unlocking the Potential of Public Development Banks for Sustainable Development”, which proposes a vision for a renewed international financial architecture.

• The French Presidency of the G7
As part of the French presidency of the G7, FiCS is preparing a high-level event to give greater voice to PDBs and to fuel reflection on the multilateral financial architecture. This event, organized on the sidelines of the G7 ministerial meeting on development, will bring together representatives of PDBs, financial institutions, the private sector, and civil society. A document of proposals intended for the French G7 and Indian BRICS presidencies will then be drawn up.