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p. 3 of 7 BACK | NEXT I. Introduction II. Current Policies and Practices III. Recent Developments at the World Bank and the IFC IV. Concerns and Constraints Relating to Confidentiality and Disclosure V. General Policy on Disclosure VI. Implementation of the Policy VII. Recommendations

Confidentiality and Disclosure of Information

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III. Recent Developments at the World Bank and the IFC

18. It may be useful to review recent developments at the World Bank and the IFC, which share both the same interests in disseminating information on their operations and activities, and similar constraints and restrictions on such dissemination relating to the rights and interests of members, property holders, staff, and others.

19. The World Bank’s current “Directive on Disclosure of Information” provides that “there is a presumption in favor of disclosure, outside and within the Bank, in the absence of a compelling reason not to disclose.” Recently, the World Bank’s Executive Directors carried out extensive discussions on access to information, culminating in a new policy adopted on 26 August 1993 designed to increase significantly the availability of information to the public.⁶ The new policy attempts to balance concerns of borrowing governments regarding disclosure with the benefits of increasing transparency and sharing information with all interested parties. Pursuant to the new policy, the following initiatives, among others, were approved:

1. A new project information document (PID) will be made available to the general public for each project being prepared for World Bank financing. The PID will be a brief, two-page factual summary of the main elements of an evolving project, will be made available at an early stage of project processing, and will be updated as the project develops.

2. Staff appraisal reports (SARs) will also be made available to the public after the World Bank’s Board has approved the projects to which they relate (although confidential information in such reports may be withheld, and in exceptional cases entire reports may be withheld upon justification by the Country Department Director concerned).

3. Summaries of project evaluation reports prepared by the World Bank’s Operations Evaluation Department will be publicly available.

4. Country economic and sector work reports will be systematically published (although again “sensitive information” in such reports may be withheld, or entire reports restricted as in the case of SARs).

5. Sectoral policy will be published.

6. A new Public Information Center (PIC) is scheduled to be established in January 1994 to service the World Bank’s member countries through its field offices. With the assistance of a computer network, the PIC will offer a complete set of publicly available documents, as well as a catalogue of such documents.

20. The IFC has also recently reviewed its policy on the disclosure of information.⁷ IFC’s policy is also to be open about its activities and to seek opportunities to explain its work. That policy is similar to the World Bank’s, but recognizes IFC’s different purposes and functions.

21. Under a recently endorsed disclosure policy, IFC’s disclosure of information on specific projects is much more limited than that of the World Bank. This new IFC disclosure policy makes certain factual project information available to the public prior to IFC’s Board consideration of the project through an IFC document called a Summary of Project Information (SPI). Under ordinary circumstances, the SPI will be released not later than 30 days prior to consideration of the project by IFC’s Board, but in some circumstances where IFC Management determines that such disclosure would be harmful to the project company, or where market conditions would prevent observance of the 30-day period, the Board paper will indicate that the SPI has not been released or has been released late. Following Board approval of investments, IFC issues a press release (with client consent) providing relevant details about the investment and its sponsors, and also provides additional information about projects with significant environmental impact (Category A projects). It is also prepared to make available papers on private sector development generally, with some exceptions. However, the IFC clearly notes, in addition to the need to protect confidentiality, property rights, and its decision-making process, that it has an obligation to protect the legitimate business interests and proprietary rights of its private sector clients, and therefore does not disclose information about a prospective or existing client without the client’s consent. The IFC emphasizes that disclosure of such information without consent would “have an actual or perceived adverse impact on the business plans of the client and could expose IFC to potential legal liability and/or loss of business reputation.”⁸ Moreover, investment documents that contain confidential information (including legal documents) are provided only to those with the need to know, and are not made available by the IFC to the general public.

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