The Boards of the African Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday, December 4 approved a cumulative US $4.89 billion (UA 3.188 billion) for the 2014 Borrowing Program of the AfDB Group, which includes US $199.58 million (UA 130 million) for possible draw down under the loan component of the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance (EPSA) Initiative for Africa.

The borrowing program aims at raising cost-effective resources to finance Bank Group clients as well as meet its liquidity requirements. This is because unlike commercial banks which have the central bank as a lender of last resort, the AfDB has to fully rely on its liquid resources to meet its obligations.

The program will help to (1) ensure that the Bank has sufficient liquidity to meet its cash flow requirements consistent with the liquidity policy; and (2) provide cost-effective resources to its regional member countries, while further diversifying its investor base.

A borrowing program of UA 3,756 million*, including up to UA 130 million under the EPSA initiative was approved by the Board for 2013 enabling the Bank to raise UA 3.530 billion from the capital markets as of October 31, 2013; the Bank's Treasury Director Pierre Van Peteghem told members of the Board.

To achieve its funding objectives, the Bank has adopted a strategy based on the following building blocks:

A track record of issuing regular, liquid benchmark transactions in the capital markets to attract competitive funding levels and generate private placement and Uridashi opportunities subject to investor demand;

Development of access to public and private markets in various currencies and build name recognition;

Providing access to medium- to long-term funding, subject to market conditions;

Deepening and broadening the Bank's investor base;

Promoting the development of African capital markets and providing local currency funding to its clients by issuing bonds denominated in local currencies.

* As of December 2013, 1 Unit of Account (UA) = 1.53521 United States Dollars (USD)