World Bank [to 21 November 2015]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all
[We generally limit coverage to regional and global level initiatives, recognizing that a number of country-level announcements are added each week]

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World Bank Surveys Confirm Concerns over Reduced Access to Banking Services
WASHINGTON, November 20, 2015 – Two World Bank surveys confirm that large global banks are restricting or terminating relationships with other financial institutions and that banking services for money-transfer operators have become increasingly limited.
The surveys, carried out from April to October 2015, sought to gauge whether large banks are limiting or terminating foreign correspondent banking relationships and closing accounts belonging to money transfer operators.
In particular, they aimed to ascertain whether decisions being taken by banks were for business or risk-management reasons or as a result of “de-risking.” The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) defines de-risking as the “phenomenon of financial institutions terminating or restricting business relationships with clients or categories of clients to avoid, rather than manage, risk in line with the FATF’s risk-based approach.”…

World Toilet Day 2015: new World Bank report finds severe lack of access to water & sanitation for thousands of families across the Pacific
SYDNEY, November 19, 2015 – Released to coincide with World Toilet Day 2015, Unsettled: water and sanitation in urban settlement communities of the Pacific, highlights the reasons why thousands of families in Melanesia – Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea (PNG) – are unable to access basic water and sewage services. The report makes a number of recommendations on how governments, utility providers, charities and donors can work together to improve access and affordability.

“The findings of this report are, as the name suggests, unsettling – revealing the extent to which families living in informal settlements in Pacific capitals are going without safe drinking water and clean, effective toilets and other sanitation services,” said Franz Drees-Gross, World Bank Country Director for Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Pacific Islands. “We hope this report starts a conversation that needs to happen in the Pacific, as informal settlements now form a significant part of cities such as Port Moresby, Honiara, Suva and Port Vila. It is crucial that decision-makers across the region work together to overcome the numerous barriers to ensuring all Pacific Islanders have access to these most basic of services.”
PDF: Unsettled: water and sanitation in urban settlement communities of the Pacific

Challenge Fund Winners to Support Disaster Resilience
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 18, 2015 – Fifteen innovative programs in over 20 nations have been selected through the Challenge Fund, to help developing countries better manage disaster risk…
Date: November 18, 2015 Type: Press Release

Many developing countries can improve public services through fair and open procurement practices, says WBG report
WASHINGTON, November 18, 2015 – Private companies continue to face considerable obstacles, linked to transparency, efficiency and other ills of government procurement systems around the world, a new World…
Date: November 18, 2015 Type: Press Release

G20 Leaders: Call to Action on Inclusive Business
Antalaya, November 17, 2015—Leaders at the G20 Leaders Summit in Antalaya, Turkey issued a call to action to public and private sector representatives, international organizations and civil society to…
Date: November 17, 2015 Type: Press Release