Can a bank whose primary function is making loans (with interest) perform the task of development in poor countries? This chapter unpacks the loaded term “development bank” by juxtaposing each regional development bank's overall lending in the last few decades to the socioeconomic changes that took place in the developing regions that are on the receiving ends of the loans. On the micro level, I take a closer look at the most developed country and the least developed country from each region serviced by the RDBs, and, returning to the macro level I examine the RDBs’ performance in comparison to the World Bank's.

Below, I examine the social and economic parameters that form the basis of the statistical analysis in Chapter 5. I first evaluate the levels of development of the regions that receive loans, and analyze selected countries relative to each other within each region. I then evaluate the loan amounts made by the RDBs over the years of their existence, including how RDB loan amounts compare to those of the World Bank. These figures support the conclusion that the loan amounts to all regions have significantly increased since the 1960s, with a particular sharp rise in the 1980s.

The development mission of the RDBs is constantly put to the test of changing global socioeconomic conditions. Specifically, the levels of GDP per capita, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, health, and education indicators, have all changed over time in developing countries that receive RDB loans. For the banks to remain relevant as development institutions, their lending should be adjusted to account for these changes. When, for example, some developing countries begin to attract more private capital (FDI), we would expect that the RDBs that lend to these countries are no longer the sole source of capital: they could very well be competing with private sector lenders – a violation of their stated mission. To be sure, all four regions have improved their GDP per capita and lowered infant mortality rates. They also have all been able to attract more FDI as of the late 1980s and early 1990s.