Regional Development Banks
UK is a shareholder and contributor to the African (AfDB), Asian (AsDB),
Caribbean (CDB) and Inter-American Development (IDB) Banks and DFID is
responsible for the oversight of UK policy towards these institutions. The
Regional Development Banks’ strength lie in them being majority owned and
staffed by the regional countries themselves. This means that the Banks are well
placed to provide a uniquely regional voice and perspective to the development
debate. Furthermore, all four Regional Development Banks endorse the Millennium
Development Goals as strategic benchmarks for their funding activities.
The Board of Governors in each Bank, which comprises representatives from
every shareholder in the Bank, is responsible for the overall policy direction
of the institutions. The Secretary of State is the UK Governor and the
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State is the UK Alternate Governor for all four
Banks.
The Board of Governors invests day-to-day management in the Board of
Directors. At the Caribbean Development Bank the UK has its own seat on the
Board of Directors. At the other three Banks we share our seat within a
constituency of other shareholders.
The Banks are poverty focussed and address key regional issues, such as
infrastructure and, especially, water and sanitation. They often develop
cross-border programmes of investment, improving access to energy and tackling
the spread of diseases. In 2006 Parliamentary approval was given for the UK to
contribute £343.79 million to the latest replenishments of the African, Asian
and Caribbean Development Banks' concessional lending arms. In total the three
Banks will inject $12.5 billion of highly concessional development assistance
into the regions where they operate.
In 2005 The Asian, African and Inter-American Development Banks all saw
change at the top. Haruhiko Kuroda took over as President of the AsDB in
February 2005. Donald Kaberuka became AfDB President on 1 September and a month
later Luis Alberto Moreno arrived at the IDB. Finally, in 2006 Compton Bourne
began a second term as President at the CDB. The UK continues to work with all
four to help them improve their organisations' impact on the ground in the fight
against poverty. As part of this new institutional strategies for the Asian and
African Development Banks were published by DFID and our constituency partners
in 2006.
Links
Similar strategies are being prepared for the other two.
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