The forty-year-old body with a mandate to fight poverty in Asia and the Pacific is at a crossroads. Most of its once poor clients are now among the fastest growing.
"The [current] ADB cannot survive in a region with capital surpluses and where the need for loans is less and less every day" said Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, calling for a broader mandate for the bank.
Kenneth Peel, deputy assistant secretary at the US Treasury, wants to keep things constant: "The bank does not need to compete with private venture capital funds. It does not need to become a money manager for central banks. It does not need to become a mini-IMF."
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