Asian Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional multilateral development bank headquartered in Manila, Philippines, that finances projects and provides policy advice to promote economic growth, poverty reduction, and regional cooperation across Asia and the Pacific. It was established in 1966 with an initial membership of 31 countries and has since expanded to 68 members, including 49 from within the Asia-Pacific region and 19 from outside it.

ADB's governance structure follows a weighted voting model similar to the World Bank and IMF: shareholders' voting power reflects their capital subscriptions. Japan and the United States are the two largest shareholders, each holding roughly 15.6% of total shares, and by tradition the ADB president has always been Japanese. The Board of Governors is the highest policy-making body, with day-to-day operations overseen by a resident Board of Directors and the President.

ADB provides a mix of instruments:

• Sovereign loans to member governments, often on concessional terms for lower-income borrowers through the Asian Development Fund (ADF).
• Nonsovereign operations, including loans, equity, and guarantees to private-sector projects.
• Technical assistance and grants for capacity building, project preparation, and policy reform.
• Co-financing with bilateral donors, the World Bank, and other multilateral institutions.

Major operational priorities articulated in ADB's Strategy 2030 include addressing remaining poverty and inequality, accelerating progress in gender equality, tackling climate change and disaster resilience, strengthening governance, and fostering regional cooperation and integration. Climate finance has become a particularly prominent line of work, with ADB committing to substantially scale up climate-related lending through the 2020s.

ADB is sometimes compared to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the China-led multilateral founded in 2016. While both fund infrastructure in the region, ADB has a broader development mandate covering health, education, and social sectors, and a longer operational history. The two institutions have co-financed several projects despite being seen by some analysts as geopolitical competitors.