Headquarters: 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Metro Manila, Philippines

History The Asian Development Bank was conceived in the early 1960s as a financial institution that would be Asian in character and foster economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions in the world. A resolution passed at the first Ministerial Conference on Asian Economic Cooperation held by the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East in 1963 set that vision on the way to becoming reality.

The Philippines capital of Manila was chosen to host the new institution, which opened on 19 December 1966, with 31 members that came together to serve a predominantly agricultural region. Takeshi Watanabe was ADB's first President. During the 1960s, ADB focused much of its assistance on food production and rural development.

Highlights 1970’s Cofinancing operations, in which ADB manages the funds of other organizations, began to provide additional resources for ADB projects and programs. ADB’s first bond issue in Asia—worth $16.7 million and issued in Japan—took place in 1970. A major landmark was the establishment in 1974 of the Asian Development Fund to provide low-interest loans to ADB's poorest members.

1980’s In the wake of the second oil crisis, ADB continued its support to infrastructure development, particularly energy projects. ADB also increased its support to social infrastructure, including projects involving microfinance, the environment, education, urban planning, health issues, and helping women and girls. In 1982, ADB opened its first field office—in Bangladesh—to bring operations closer to the people in need. Later in the decade, ADB began working with nongovernment organizations to help disadvantaged groups.

1990’s In mid-1997, a severe financial crisis hit the region, setting back Asia's economic gains. ADB responded with projects and programs to strengthen financial sectors and create social safety nets for the poor. ADB approved its largest single loan—a $4 billion emergency loan to the Republic of Korea—and established the Asian Currency Crisis Support Facility to accelerate assistance.

2000’s In 2003, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic hit the region, making it clear that fighting infectious diseases requires regional cooperation. ADB began providing support at national and regional levels to help countries more effectively respond to avian influenza and the growing threat of HIV/AIDS. ADB also had to respond to unprecedented natural disasters, committing more than $850 million for recovery in areas of India, Indonesia, Maldives, and Sri Lanka hit by the December 2004 Asian tsunami. In addition, a $1 billion line of assistance to help victims of the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan was set up.

2010’s As the era of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) draws to a close, the results have been mixed. While ADB’s work has contributed to Asia and the Pacific slashing extreme poverty by more than half, the region is still home to 1.2 billion people who live on $3.10 a day or less and almost three-quarters of the world’s underweight children. About 600 million people have no access to electricity and 1.7 billion still lack improved sanitation. A huge amount of work still must be done with the new Sustainable Development Goals as important guideposts.

What they do The Asian Development Bank aims for an Asia and Pacific free from poverty. Its mission is to help developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people. Despite the region's many successes, it remains home to a large share of the world's poor: 330 million living on less than $1.90 a day and 1.2 billion on less than $3.10 a day.

As a multilateral development finance institution, ADB provides: ADB in partnership with member governments, independent specialists and other financial institutions is focused on delivering projects in developing member countries that create economic and development impact.  As a multilateral development finance institution, ADB provides: loans technical assistance grants

ADB maximizes the development impact of its assistance by Their clients are their member governments, who are also their shareholders. In addition, they provide direct assistance to private enterprises of developing member countries through equity investments and loans. ADB maximizes the development impact of its assistance by facilitating policy dialogues, providing advisory services, and mobilizing financial resources through co-financing operations that tap official, commercial, and export credit sources

Areas of Focus and Results ADB operations are designed to support the three complementary agendas of inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. ADB employs its limited resources in its areas of comparative strength—the core areas of: Infrastructure (energy, information and communications technology, transport, urban development, water) Environment Regional cooperation and integration Finance sector development Education

ADB also operates on a limited scale in other areas, including Health Agriculture and natural resources Public sector management

Where does it get funding? ADB raises funds through bond issues on the world's capital markets. We also rely on our members' contributions, retained earnings from our lending operations, and the repayment of loans. We also provide loans and grants from a number of special funds.

Organization ADB has 67 shareholding members including 48 from the Asia and Pacific region. ADB's highest policy-making body is the Board of Governors, which comprises one representative from each member nation – 48 from the Asia-Pacific and 19 from outside the region

The Governors elect 12 members to form the Board of Directors, which performs its duties full time at the ADB headquarters. The Directors supervise ADB's financial statements, approve its administrative budget, and review and approve all policy documents and all loan, equity, and technical assistance operations. The ADB President (Takehiko Nakao) chairs the Board of Directors and heads a management team comprising six Vice-Presidents, who supervise the work of ADB's operational, administrative, and knowledge departments.