Financing is critical for investment and necessary to sustain global growth. As a continuation of the B20 in 2014, B20 Turkey continues to concentrate on improving and strengthening the current global financial architecture, specifically with respect to the governance of international financial institutions and the spillover effects of national policy decisions on other markets.
The Financing Growth Taskforce has 103 members – members who are mostly senior executives from business associations and financial services firms. The taskforce is also ably assisted by representatives from those organizations, and is also armed with in-depth project support from The Boston Consulting Group. Members and supporters either continued as members of the previous year’s taskforce (under the Australian B20 presidency), or were invited to join in 2015. The membership is broadly representative of G20 countries.
Since B20 Turkey embraces implementation as its main theme, the B20 Turkey Financing Growth Taskforce decided to prioritize the recommendations passed on from its B20 Australia predecessor via a member vote at its kickoff meeting. Highest priority was given to facilitating financial inclusion, with a focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Improving global financial regulation came a close second.
B20 Turkey seeks to increase and diversify the access to equity for small- to medium-size businesses, and improve financial regulations and encourage a better balance of debt and financing for organizations.
Recommendations by the Financing Growth Taskforce for action by G20 countries at the national level are intended to reduce the SME financing gap by finding good-practice policy actions. The taskforce is now looking at how to make reliable information on SME creditworthiness more readily available, reduce the risk inherent in SME financing, and expand alternative avenues for financing. Additionally, the taskforce has discussed the need for action to strengthen global financial regulations, which would boost economic growth.