Inter-American Development Bank
The Inter-American Development Bank ( IDB ; sometimes also IADB ; in Spanish and Portuguese BID ) is a multilateral development bank in the legal form of a stock corporation and based in Washington, DC The IADB was founded by 19 American states, including the USA . In 1977 the Republic of Austria became a member of the IADB, the Federal Republic of Germany joined it in 1979 and holds a share of 1.9% (as of September 2004). The majority of the bank is held by member states from Latin America and the Caribbean .
Organization and activity
To simplify matters, the following legally independent companies are usually grouped together under the name IADB ("IADB Group"):
- The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), founded in 1959, including the Special Business Fund (FSO)
- The Inter-American Investment Company (IIC), founded in 1986
- The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), founded in 1993
According to the German government (as of September 2004), the IADB has been the largest multilateral lender for Latin America and the Caribbean for years - even ahead of the World Bank .
The bank's financial resources consist of
- paid-in capital
- the reserves
- Loans that the bank takes out itself
- other contributions from member countries
At the head of the bank is a board of governors, which oversees the activities of the board of executive directors. A management team is responsible for day-to-day business operations. The President of the IADB is elected for a five-year term by the Presidium. He leads the bank's operational business. Luis Alberto Moreno has been President since 2005 ; he was re-elected for 5 years in 2010. The Executive Vice President (EVP) is elected by the Board of Executive Directors and oversees the operational departments of the bank.
The Vice President for Planning and Administration (VPO), on the other hand, oversees all departments with planning and auxiliary tasks. The individual areas of the bank are each headed by a division manager, his deputy and various division chiefs.
The bank's statutes have only permitted membership of non-American states since the 1970s. In addition to Germany, Austria and other European countries, the USA, Canada , Japan , Switzerland and Israel are also involved as "donor countries" .
The main goals of the IADB are the fight against poverty and social inequality. An " Action Program 2015 " was adopted for this purpose . According to this, the bank intends to support small and medium-sized private companies more in order to contribute to broad economic growth in the countries concerned.
In the business activities of the IADB, the German Federal Government is urging greater attention to environmental and social standards and the promotion of renewable energies. In 2003, the bank adopted an environmental strategy, which the German government attributes to its contribution (see also: environmental policy ).