The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to make 3 billion USD in funds to help developing member countries (DMCs) cope with the impact of the global economic crisis in 2009-2010.
ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said that the ADB Board of Directors has approved the establishment of the Countercyclical Support Facility (CSF) with funds amounting to 3 billion USD at the annual ADB meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on May 2.
The CSF would provide short-term loans faster and cheaper than under ADB's existing special programme loan (SPL) facilities, he said.
This will be a very welcome initiative to assist faltering economies and, most importantly, protect the poor from the worst impact of the crisis, according to the ADB President.
The report, The Global Economic Crisis: Challenges for Developing Asia and ADB's Response, says ADB plans to increase its lending assistance by more than 10 billion USD in 2009-2010, bringing total ADB assistance for these two years to about 32 billion USD. This compares with about 22 billion in 2007-2008 USD.