Multilateral Development Banks Comparison Report 2026
Global Risk and Finance Forum / Asian Development Bank
Multilateral institutions
African Development Bank
ShareholderInternational · Africa
The UK has held shares since 1983. AfDB finances public and private development projects in Africa. Its ordinary capital is distinct from the African Development Fund's concessional resources.
- UK ownership or participation
- 1.559% of subscribed shares · 31 December 2025
- Lead department or body
- Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
- UK voting rights
- 1.872% of votes · 31 December 2025
- Mandate
- Development finance
UK financial position
FCDO investment carrying value£213.062m31 March 2026
Accounting value; separate from subscribed capital.
Underlying source ↗UK capital subscriptionUA 2.71589bn31 December 2025
271,589 shares. UA is the bank's Unit of Account, equal to the IMF SDR.
Underlying source ↗UK paid-in capitalUA 177.62m31 December 2025
Paid-in component of subscribed capital.
Underlying source ↗UK callable capitalUA 2.53827bn31 December 2025
Callable commitment; not cash already paid to the bank.
Underlying source ↗Accounting values, paid-in capital and funding commitments have different meanings and reporting dates. These figures are not added together.
Ownership and accountability
FCDO records the investment. UK representation operates through the bank's governors and the executive-director constituency shared with Italy and the Netherlands. Capital and voting percentages differ.
Research hub
12 publications relevant to AfDB · Institution-specific research shown first
More Critical Than Ever — Strengthening Growth and Resilience through the Multilateral Development Banks
Brookings / Center for Global Development / ICRIER / ODI Global
Changing MDB capital structures — trade-offs for MDBs, governments and investors in building lending capacity
ODI Global
News and announcements
View in News and announcements →- UK proposes £1.6 billion increase in AfDB callable capital ↗
FCDO has notified Parliament of a proposed increase of approximately £1.6 billion in the UK’s callable capital commitment to the African Development Bank. Treasury has approved the proposal in principle, with 14 parliamentary sitting days for objections before the liability is incurred. The commitment could be called in severe financial distress and involves no immediate cash payment.
- CGD reviews how development banks assess market impact ↗
Reviews public information on 17 institutions’ market-impact methodologies, targets, incentives and reporting. The authors find substantial differences and gaps in the evidence shareholders can use to assess how investment decisions affect markets.
View in Research hub → - Development banks revise how they measure mobilisation and private finance ↗
BII, through EDFI, and UK-backed multilateral banks are covered by a new joint methodology package. It updates mobilisation rules and adds a separate generation measure for institution-backed finance; work on catalysation continues. The guides require these different indicators to remain separate. No new UK financial commitment is announced.
View in Research hub → - CGD examines how UK public-finance channels support climate goals ↗
Rob Moore and Ian Mitchell examine BII investment, UKEF support and UK guarantees through multilateral banks alongside aid spending. Their paper calls for stronger coordination and reporting. Its estimates and future scenarios depend on explicit assumptions and do not establish new capital payments.
View in Research hub → - OECD examines how shareholders can strengthen private capital mobilisation ↗
New OECD research examines mandates, risk frameworks and staff incentives across development banks and DFIs, including BII and UK-backed multilaterals. It argues that mobilisation targets need to account for additionality and harder markets.
View in Research hub → - UK announces hybrid capital investment in AfDB ↗
The development minister says the investment will enable an additional US$250m of lending. That is expected lending capacity, not the size of the UK's investment; the speech does not specify the subscription amount.