This publication is a history of the partnership between Indonesia and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). When Indonesia became a founding member of the bank in 1966, the country faced daunting challenges. In the five decades that passed, both Indonesia and ADB have evolved in remarkable ways. Indonesia developed rapidly through the late 1990s yet faced a difficult time of adjustment after the Asian financial crisis of 1997–1998. The country has since resumed growth in the last decade. For its part, ADB has widened its activities in Indonesia, transforming from a project-oriented bank into a broad-based development institution. This effective partnership reflects Indonesia’s success in working with the international community in the past 50 years.
High and persistent levels of nonperforming loans (NPLs) have featured prominently in recent financial crises. This book traces NPL trends during and after crises, examines the economic impact of high NPLs, and compares the effectiveness of NPL resolution strategies across economies in Asia and Europe. The book distills important lessons from the experiences of economies using case studies and empirical investigation of ways to resolve NPLs. These findings can be invaluable in charting a course through the financial and economic fallout of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic to recovery and sustained financial stability in Asia, Europe, and beyond.
After years of strong performance, Korea’s economy entered a crisis in 1997, owing largely to structural problems in its financial and corporate sectors. These problems emerged in the second half of that year, when the capital inflows that had helped finance Korea’s growth were reversed, as foreign investors—reeling from losses in other Southeast Asian economies—decided to reduce their exposure to Korea. This paper focuses on the sources of the crisis that originated in the financial sector, the measures taken to deal with it, and the evolution of key banking and financial variables in its aftermath.