Blockchain for public finance management

The management of public finances is beset by problems of inefficiency and a lack of transparency. Governments struggle to keep track of how their funds are spent. They are forced to expend substantial resources in tracking and reporting their payments and obligations. OMFIF, in collaboration with EY, launch a report to study the degree to which digital improvements to the systems underpinning these functions, perhaps employing blockchain, could improve operational efficiency, oversight and analysis of how best to deploy resources.

One area where this technology could swiftly yield benefits is in ESG capital markets. Investors are increasingly under regulatory pressure to disclose the impact of their portfolios. Accordingly, the demand for bond issuers to report on the way the proceeds of their bonds are spent has also increased. Giving green bond issuers the opportunity to trace funds they disburse more effectively and collect better data on how the money is used could be an immensely valuable innovation.

The full panel discussion at the live launch can be viewed here.

Download the report:

Blockchain and the future of ESG investing

The environmental, social and governance finance movement has been perhaps the single most important new development in capital markets over the last 10 years. Blockchain, if it fulfils its promise, may be the most important development of the next 10. OMFIF, in collaboration with EY, convenes a roundtable to discuss the application of blockchain technology to the green and social bond markets. As regulatory pressures mount on investors to disclose the environmental impact of their portfolios, that pressure is transferred to issuers via excess demand for ESG-labelled products. In response, issuers must develop the capacity to track the way their money is spent.

This roundtable examines these forces, highlighting the difficulties issuers face in providing investors with accurate use-of-proceeds data and the challenges that investors face in aggregating data from a range of issuers in a variety of formats. It also discusses the impact a blockchain-based finance management architecture might have on solving these problems.

NGEU recovery, resilience and fund disbursement

As a combination of macroeconomic shocks and structural issues impact European growth and drive inflation, this two-part seminar will discuss the policy responses to economic challenges. This includes most notably the largest stimulus package ever financed in Europe, Next Generation EU.

However, central budgetary authorities have a limited capacity to oversee how their disbursements are used and face mounting regulatory and reporting requirements. How can public institutions simplify procedures, boost capacity and ensure the effective implementation and monitoring of their investments?

This OMFIF seminar looks at solutions that aim to increase transparency, traceability and effectiveness between the European Commission, ministries, treasuries and investors within the NGEU process.

Speakers:

• Giovanni Callegari, Head of Economic Risk Analysis, European Stability Mechanism
• Alessandro Cenderello, Managing Partner for EU institutions, EY
• Piero Cipollone, Deputy Governor, Banca d’Italia
  
• Declan Costello, Deputy Director General for Economic and Financial Affairs, European Commission
• Erik Jones, Director, European University Institute Florence
  
• Mark MacDonald, Global Public Finance Management Leader, EY
  
• Stefan Nanu, Head of Public Debt Management & State Treasury, Ministry of Public Finance Romania
• Pier Carlo Padoan, Chairman, UniCredit

Register your interest in attending this seminar here.

Ensuring impactful fund disbursements for efficient public good

Public finance management systems are a means of delivering development outcomes through a governance system, so assuring that fund disbursements are impactful is crucial. The inability of current systems to accurately measure and track key indicators creates operational challenges and overcoming them is critical in facilitating effectual public good. Representatives from USAID and EY join OMFIF to discuss some of the challenges unfolding in aid projects and how they can be resolved.

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