Asian Development Bank worsens debt conditions: World Bank head

He hit the development banks in Asia, Africa, and Europe for lending too quickly to debt-heavy countries.

World Bank president David Malpass has chastised other development banks for lending too quickly to debt-heavy countries, including the Asian Development Bank (ABD), saying that they are sinking fiscally-challenged countries in further debt, reports Reuters.

Malpass named the ADB, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as aggravators to debt problems.

He hit the ADB for “pushing billions of dollars” into a fiscally-challenged environment in Pakistan, and the AfDB for doing the same in Nigeria and South Africa.

In December, the ADB approved $1.3b in loans for Pakistan, including $1b for immediate budget support for public finances and $300m for the country’s energy sector. These came as the country is ridden with billions of dollars of debt to China from Belt and Road infrastructure projects.

There needs to be more coordination and transparency amongst international financial institutions in terms of lending, Malpass said.

Here's more from Reuters.

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