WASHINGTON, June 24, 2026—The Board of Directors of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) today released the following statement:
“In response to the investigation by the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) related to IFC’s investments in six Cambodian financial institutions providing microfinance services, the IFC Board of Executive Directors yesterday approved IFC’s Management Report, including a ‘Special Management Action Plan’ to address the harms faced by the 18 complainants. In approving the Plan, the Board recognized that there has been no policy noncompliance under IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability.
Under the Plan, which will be monitored by CAO, IFC will:
- Hire a local facilitator to help the 18 complainants, including through loan restructuring, deferred repayments, or interest adjustments.
- Support the complainants in accessing existing national resources, including the Financial Consumer Protection Center, the National Bank of Cambodia complaints and inquiry hotline, and mediation services under the National Authority for Alternative Dispute Resolution.
In addition, to strengthen reprisal risk management, stakeholder engagement, and complaint handling, IFC will support the establishment of a financial ombudsman in Cambodia and improve responsible lending certification for approximately 65,000 credit officers. IFC will also enhance its responsible finance practices globally, drawing lessons from this case.
Over the coming months, WBG management will present to the Board its approach to financial consumer protection in microfinance. Supporting microfinance is part of the World Bank Group’s efforts to reach the 1.3 billion adults globally who don’t have a bank account and close the multi-trillion-dollar financing gap faced by small businesses in developing economies. Financial consumer protection will also be considered during the update to IFC’s Sustainability Framework.
Beyond the Plan, the Board acknowledged IFC’s efforts to strengthen regulatory oversight in Cambodia’s microfinance sector over the past two decades. IFC’s clients in Cambodia have reached more than 400,000 microenterprises and 1.7 million farmers, creating jobs, and building livelihoods.”
More information about this case can be found in the the CAO Investigation Report and IFC’s Management Report. Details of the Special Management Action Plan can be found in Section IX of the Management Report.
More information about the World Bank Group’s approach to responsible microfinance is available here.