*The International Financial Corporation is a member of the

World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, DC.

*It shares the primary objective of all World Bank Group

institutions i.e. to improve the quality of lives of people in its developing member countries

*In the developing world, IFC is the largest multilateral

source of loan and equity financing for private sector projects.

HISTORY
Launched in 1956: 12 years after the Bretton Woods Conference created the World Bank to finance post-WWII reconstruction and development by lending to governments Original mandate: supporting development by encouraging private investment (a new part of the global economic agenda) 1980s: IFC coins the term emerging markets 1990s: IFC increases in size, importance after fall of Berlin Wall Today: IFC is the worlds largest multilateral institution focused on private sector development, widely seen as an essential source of job creation, growth, and poverty reduction

Ownership and management:-

*IFC has currently 188 members(south sudan), which determine its

policies and approve investments.

*To

join IFC, a country must first become a member of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

*The corporate powers of IFC are vested in its Board of Governors,

to which member countries appoint their representatives.

*IFC's

share capital is provided by member countries, and voting rights are in proportion to the number of shares held.

*The President of World Bank Group Robert Zoellick is currently

serving as the IFC's president also.

Membership International Finance Corporation member states. The IFC is owned by its 188 member governments which pay in capital, vote on matters of policy, and approve all of its investing activities. Each member country is a shareholder of the IFC, and the percentage of each member's ownership share is determined by the amount of capital it pays into the IFC.

 As of 2011[update], the United States is the IFC's single largest shareholder with a share of 24%. Japan holds a share of 6%, while each of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom hold 5%.[1] Membership in the IFC is available only to countries who are members of the World Bank, particularly the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Functions:It promotes sustainable private sector development primarily by:

*Providing financial assistance to the private sector projects and

companies located in the developing world;

*Helping private companies based in the developing world mobilize

financing in the international financial markets;

*Providing advisory and technical assistance to the businesses and

governments.

*While the World Bank finances projects with sovereign guarantees

only, the IFC finances projects without sovereign guarantees also. This means IFC is primarily active in private sector projects.

*Like a bank, IFC lends or invests its funds to its customers and
expects to make a sufficient risk-adjusted return on its global portfolio of projects.

*IFC supports projects with positive developmental outcomes, and

to improve the outcome of such projects by various means.

*IFC provides both investment as well as advisory services. *IFC's Advisory Services focus basically on five core areas: Access
to Finance, Business Enabling Environment, Environmental & Social Sustainability, Infrastructure Advisory, and Corporate Advice.

 The IFC provides loans, equity investment advice, and technical assistances to private businesses in developing countries. The IFC lends to the private sector and does not accept host government guarantees on its loans. Since its founding, IFC lending has reached more than $49 billion in its own fund and $24 billion in syndication for 3,319 companies stretching through 140 developing countries. In FY 2008, its new commitment was $7.4 in its own fund and $3.3 billion in loan syndications. IFC's equity portfolio was $11 billion as of the beginning of FY09. It has been consistently profitable since 1956.