INVESTING TOGETHER IN THE FUTURE OF THE AMERICAS
THE UNITED STATES is the
Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) largest shareholder, having subscribed $1.3 billion in paid-in capital, and guarantees, or “callable” capital—equivalent to 30 percent of the IDB’s Ordinary Capital voting shares—as of December 31, 2010. In addition, the U.S. has contributed $5.0 billion, or 50 percent, to the Bank’s Fund for Special Operations (FSO). Under the terms of the Ninth General Capital Increase, the United States has pledged, subject to congressional approval, to provide an additional $510 million in paid-in capital to the IDB’s Ordinary Capital and an additional $237 million to the FSO, most of which has been made available to the IDB Grant Facility for the benefit of Haiti. In March 2011, the U.S. announced its intention to donate $5 million to a multidonor trust fund administered by the IDB to support regional infrastructure integration projects throughout Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The IDB, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a member of the IDB Group which includes the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) and the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF). As the oldest and largest regional multilateral
development bank, the IDB is the main source of multilateral financing for economic, social and institutional development in LAC. The IIC focuses on support for small and medium-sized businesses while the MIF promotes privatesector growth through grants and investments. With the highest available rating (AAA), the IDB finances its operations with a combination of its own resources, which consist of retained earnings and paid-in capital from its 48 member countries, as well as from borrowings on the financial markets, trust funds that it administers and cofinancing ventures. The IDB’s new Capital Adequacy Framework, Asset and Liability Management Policy and Liquidity Policy, approved in 2010, ensure that capital requirements are in place for credit, market and operational risk, and stipulate the terms under which the IDB’s liquid investments portfolio is managed. From 1961, when the IDB began financing development projects, through the end of 2010, IDB investment loan disbursements to U.S. firms and consultants for the purchase of goods and services totaled $8.4 billion, approximately four times the amount disbursed to any other nonborrowing member country.
THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK AND THE UNITED STATES
IDB USA