Contingent Liability Notification: African Development Bank

(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)

Tuesday 13th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for International Development (Kirsty McNeill)]

It is normal practice, when a Government Department proposes to undertake a contingent liability in excess of £300,000 for which there is no specific statutory authority, for the Minister concerned to present a departmental minute to Parliament giving particulars of the liability created and explaining the circumstances, and to refrain from incurring the liability until 14 parliamentary sitting days after the issue of the statement, except in cases of special urgency.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office proposes to increase the United Kingdom’s callable capital commitment to the African Development Bank as part of the general callable capital increase agreed by shareholders in 2024. This will result in an additional contingent liability of approximately £1.6 billion, reflecting the UK’s 1.87% share of the total increase. This is in addition to the UK’s existing callable capital commitment to the bank, which is currently around £1.7 billion, bringing the UK’s total callable capital commitment to approximately £3.3 billion.

The African Development Bank is a multilateral development bank supporting economic growth, poverty reduction, and sustainable development across Africa. The UK’s participation in this callable capital increase will support the strengthening of the bank’s financial resilience, helping to safeguard its capability to continue delivering effectively on core priorities aligned with UK priorities, including climate action, job creation and support for fragile states.

Callable capital is a contingent liability and |would be called only in the highly unlikely event that the bank faces severe financial distress. No immediate expenditure will arise from this commitment. If the liability is called, provision for any payment will be sought through the normal supply procedure.

HM Treasury has approved the proposal in principle. If, during the period of 14 parliamentary sitting days beginning on the date on which this minute was laid before Parliament, a Member signifies an objection by giving notice of a parliamentary question or by otherwise raising the matter in Parliament, final approval to proceed with incurring the liability will be withheld pending an examination of the objection.

[HCWS373]