Public development banks in the water sector: Case studies from Latin America

This report presents an assessment of public development banks (PDBs)' involvement in the water sector in Latin America. On the basis of a review of 8 case studies of national, regional and bilateral PDBs, it seeks to assess the hypothesis that national public development have a high potential in raising finance for achieving both the SDG 6 and the water-related Paris agreement goals, but that this potential is underused.

The findings show that the reviewed PDBs have all been providing finance for water-related investments over a long period of time. But, the extent of their involvement is often constrained by particularly demand-side factors. The study concludes that there are three inherent main limitations for PDBs to reach their full potential.
It identifies recommendations for three groups of actors (PDBs themselves, government agencies including regulators, and international finance institucions) to remove demand-side constraints and enhancing positive drivers for their involvement in the water sector.

This report forms part of a larger study commissioned by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in the context of the Water Finance Coalition launched within the Finance in Common Initiative, which seeks to enhance PDBs' role in financing countries commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Paris Agreement.