International Development Association - Lending

Lending

The IDA lends to countries with the aim to finance projects that will develop infrastructure and improve education, healthcare, access to clean water and sanitation facilities, and environmental responsibility. It is considered to be the soft lending window of the World Bank, while the IBRD is considered to be the hard lending window. The association offers grants and loans with maturities ranging from 25 to 40 years, grace periods of 5 to 10 years, and interest rates of 2.8% or 1.25% depending on whether the borrower is a blend country and to which degree it is eligible. Regular IDA-eligible borrowers may take advantage of no-interest loans. Financial resources are allocated to eligible countries based on their success at implementing pro-growth and a poverty-reducing domestic policies. The IDA uses the World Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) development indicator to determine each country's place in a resource allocation index. It then prioritizes its lending to those countries which are indicated to be most promising in terms of favorable policies and aid effectiveness. The IDA adopted the Crisis Response Window in 2007 to enable the rapid provision of emergency financing in response to crises. The association adopted the Immediate Response Mechanism in 2011 to provide IDA borrowers with immediate access to withdraw undisbursed portions of their loans, should a crisis arise that meets the mechanism's criteria.