The Inter-American Development Bank

Established in 1959, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is composed of 48 member countries, including donor nations in Europe, North America, and Japan. The IDB is the largest among regional development banks, lending more than US$9 billion annually. The IDB promotes economic development throughout Latin America. Among other objectives, the IDB is engaged in poverty reduction, social equity, and environmentally sustainable growth. The IDB’s activities are organized in four priority areas: (i) fostering competition to increase the potential for development in an open global economy; (ii) modernizing the state by strengthening the efficiency and transparency of public institutions; (iii) investing in social programs that expand opportunities for the poor; and (iv) promoting regional integration. The IDB has its headquarter in Washington, DC, and it has 26 offices in all 26 Latin American and Caribbean borrowing countries, as well as in Paris and Tokyo.