Development banks are international lending groups. They lend money to developing countries to help fuel economic growth and soc

Development banks are international lending groups. They lend money to developing countries to help fuel economic growth and social progress. They are not part of the World Bank, the International Monetary. Fund or the United Nations. The money comes from member countries and borrowing on world markets.
   Development banks provide long-term loans at market rates. They provide even longer-term loans at below-market interest rates. These banks also provide technical assistance and advice.
   There are four main ones. The oldest is the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C. It began in 1959. President Juscelino Kubitschek of Brazil had proposed a bank to aid economic growth in the Americas. The Organization of American States agreed. Today the bank is worth over 100,000 million dollars. It holds only 4 percent of that. The other money is guaranteed by its members. 47 countries around the world own the bank. The United States owns 30 percent as the largest shareholder. 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean borrow from the bank.
   The African Development Bank has its roots in an agreement signed in Sudan in 1963. It is based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. There are 24 members in the Americas, Europe and Asia in addition to 53 in Africa. The country with the most votes in the bank is Nigeria, followed as of July by the United States, Japan and Egypt.
   The Asian Development Bank started in 1966. It is based in Manila, in the Philippines. There are 63 members, mostly in Asia. Like all development banks, it is supervised by a Board of Governors.