Preparing the Strengthening the Banking and Capital Markets Reforms Program (ADB-59228-001)

Regions
  • South Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Bhutan
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
C
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Aug 15, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Bhutan - Ministry of Finance
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
  • Technical Cooperation
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Grant
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 0.82 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 0.82 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Mar 23, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Sep 29, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the ensuing project is policy-based lending (PBL) of $15 million loan, of which, $10 million will be from the concessional ordinary capital resources loan and $5 million grant from the Asian Development Fund, to help finance subprogram 1 for general budget support. Strengthening Banking Nonbanking and Capital Markets Development Program that will be designed to strengthen the banking and capital markets of Bhutan. This PBL intends to (i) strengthen banks and nonbanks in terms of ensuring transparency of operations, increasing capital, improving asset quality to lead to efficient and effective financial intermediation; (ii) support capital markets to increase activity, suite of products and leverage to raise sustainable finance; and (iii) improve financial inclusion with strong digital, gender and climate elements. This PBL builds on the initial reforms achieved in several areas under the Financial Market Development Program (FMDP)-subprograms 1 through 3 from 2019-2021 and the activities outlined in the post-program partnership framework of FMDP.

The TA outputs are: (i) stability, governance, and liquidity of the bank and nonbank institutions increased; (ii) liquidity, stability, risk management, and solvency of the bank and nonbank sector strengthened; and (iii) consumer protection, financial inclusion, data warehousing, and risk-based supervision and cybersecurity oversight strengthened. The TA will provide important expertise to implement the reforms in compliance with international norms, complete the comprehensive AQR, establish both the asset management company and credit rating agency, implement a seamless trading and transparency strategy in the securities exchange, develop a sustainability linked bond framework, alignment of banking reporting to the national green taxonomy and financial inclusion activities.

 

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

According to the Technical Assistance Report, the Risk Categories are:

Environment: C
Involuntary Resettlement: C
Indigenous Peoples: C

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The program TA will be $825,000, of which (i) $700,000 will be financed on a grant basis by ADB's Technical Assistance Special Fund (TASF-8) and (ii) $125,000 will be financed on a grant basis by the Finance Sector Development Partnership Special Fund (FSDPSF), administered by ADB.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Project Officer: Monica Mei V. Carino-Young
Designation: Financial Sector Specialist - Asian Development Bank
Email: mmyoung@adb.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.

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