Following a year of commitments and international agreements, the Asian Development Bank has announced that its operations and approvals have reached an all-time high of $27.15 billion in the past 12 months — an increase of around 19 percent from the $22.89 billion recorded in 2014.
The increase meant that in 2015, the bank was able to finance and implement more development projects in the region than ever before. And the provisional numbers, according to the bank, back the statement up: loans and grants to sovereign and nonsovereign clients grew by 23 percent to $16.58 billion (another record), while technical assistance and cofinancing were estimated at $144 million and $10.43 billion, respectively.
Indu Bhushan, director general of the strategy and policy department of the Manila-based institution, shared that given the growing stature of the countries in the region — and with it their demand for growth and development — it was natural for ADB to grow its operational numbers to help address such needs.