• The Global Transparency Resource
• Importance of Transparency
• IFI's Introduced
  • AfDB - African Development Bank
  • ADB - Asian Development Bank
  • BIS - Bank for International Settlements
  • BSTDB - Black Sea Trade and Development Bank
  • CDB - Caribbean Development Bank
  • CEB - Council of Europe Development Bank
  • EBRD - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  • ECB - European Central Bank
  • EIB - European Investment Bank
  • IADB - Inter-American Development Bank
  • IFC - International Finance Corporation
  • IMF - International Monetary Fund
  • IsDB - Islamic Development Bank
  • OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
  • WB - World Bank
  • WTO - World Trade Organisation

ADB - Asian Development Bank (Manila, Philippines)

The Asian Development Bank exists to aid in the economic development of Asia. The bank is set up in a similar way to the World Bank and performs a similar function. The main role is to make money available to member countries in order to allow them to implement their development programs. The bank also provides assistance in actually carrying out these programs.

The main purpose of the Asian Development Bank is to provide loans and investment money to the countries of Asia as a way to assist in their development. In particular the loans are granted to the poorer nations in the region so that they can improve both their economic and social conditions. In most cases the loans are treated as commercial loans and need to be paid back with interest by the borrowing country. However in some cases the loans will be concessional requiring that only part of the money be repaid. This will depend on the borrowing country and what the money is being used for.

In addition to its role as a lender the Asian Development Bank will execute feasibility studies of the various projects that member countries wish to carry out. In part this is done to ensure that the money they are lending is not being wasted on projects unlikely to be successful. However the assessment process also allows the less developed countries to benefit from the expertise of the more developed ones. A lot of the less developed countries simply lack the required technical expertise that is required to properly evaluate a project so they benefit from having the bank do it for them.

The Asian Development Bank also plays an important role in encouraging investment in the lesser developed countries in the region. There is no way that these countries are going to reach full development with just money that they get from the bank. The bulk of the money will need to come from private investors. That however requires that investors be sold on the merits of putting their money into the less developed regions. This is something that the bank can help with as they can both offer a sales pitch but they can also bring potential investors together with the people who need the investment.

Almost all countries in Asia are members of the Asian Development Bank, as are a number of countries that are not actually in Asia. Any country that borders the Pacific Ocean is now able to join. As well a number of Western Nations are members as well mainly to provide the money to be invested. This has led to a great deal of the criticism of the band since Japan and the United States provide most of the money they tend to dominate the decisions. There is a feeling that these decisions are not always in the best interest of the member countries.