LPSA’s Thematic Working Group (TWG) on Subnational Finance aims to bring together government officials, policy practitioners, scholars, civil society organizations, and citizens who share an interest and expertise on fiscal decentralization, multilevel government finance, intergovernmental fiscal relations, and subnational financial management.
The first public meeting of the TWG on Subnational Finance took place on September 6, 2023, (9:00 EDT/ 14:00 BST/ 15:00 CEST). LPSA Executive Director, Jamie Boex, opened the meeting by presenting the co-chairs of LPSA Subnational Finance Working Group. The meeting was moderated by Gundula Löffler, who serves as one of the co-chairs of the working group. Astrid Haas introduced the topic of the meeting, provided an overview of the agenda, and presented the speakers of the meeting.
During her segment, Gundula Löffler acknowledged the role of financial intermediaries in Africa in facilitating access to debt finance for cities and local governments. Despite facing infrastructure gaps due to urbanization and climate change, many African cities and local governments lack direct access to financial markets for infrastructure investments. Paul Smoke then followed up with insights into his study on commercial borrowing in developing economies which revealed excessive transfers and concessional lending, while green countries have limited borrowing due to weak domestic financial sector development and sovereign credit ratings.
During the open discussion, David Painter advocated for increased funding for local governments, particularly through market-based financing, due to insufficient funds in donor communities or national governments. The meeting concluded with scheduling the next quarterly meeting, which will take place on December 6, 2023 (9:00 EDT/ 14:00 GMT/ 15:00 CET).
A video of the meeting is available on YouTube. The links below provide access to the video segments of the different agenda items.
| No. | Agenda Item | Contributor |
| 1. | Welcome & Introduction | Jamie Boex |
| 2. | Introduction of SNF WG Co-Chairs | Titilola Akindeinde, Gundula Loeffler & Elton Stafa |
| 3. | Topic: Municipal Borrowing | Astrid Haas |
| 4. | Financial Intermediaries Facilitating Cities’ Access to Debt Finance in Africa | Gundula Loeffler |
| 5. | Subnational Borrowing and Commercial Debt in Lower & Middle Income Countries | Paul Smoke |
| 6. | Discussion | David Painter |
| 7. | Any other business | Gundula Loeffler |
Read a more detailed summary of the meeting here.
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