Title 22Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73

§262p–2 Instructions to United States Executive Directors for extension of credit

Title 22 › Chapter CHAPTER 7— - INTERNATIONAL BUREAUS, CONGRESSES, ETC. › § 262p–2

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Treasury must tell the United States Executive Director at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association to begin talks with other directors and propose that the banks take steps to help poor people get formal loans. They must also propose that, as a condition for help, borrowing countries identify and remove unreasonable laws and rules that block lenders or stop loans to microenterprises (small-scale businesses). The Secretary must also tell the U.S. Executive Directors at the African Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank to study the Inter-American Development Bank’s Program for the Financing of Small Projects and consider creating similar programs to lend to microenterprises. The National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies must report each year to Congress on these microenterprise credit efforts.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §262p–2

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association to initiate discussions with other directors of such Bank or Association and to propose that—
(1)in carrying on the activities of the Bank or Association, the Bank or Association take such steps as may be necessary to increase access for the poor people of a borrowing country to formal sources of credit; and
(2)the Bank or Association include a requirement in all appropriate project and nonproject agreements, as a condition for assistance under such agreements, that the borrowing country identify and remove unreasonable legal and regulatory barriers to—
(A)the establishment or operation of organizations which extend credit; and
(B)the provision of credit to microenterprises for small scale economic activities.
(b)The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Directors of the African Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank to initiate discussions with other directors of the respective banks and to propose that each such bank—
(1)examine the Program for the Financing of Small Projects of the Inter-American Development Bank and the steps taken by such bank to link the Program to the mainstream operation of the bank; and
(2)explore ways and means to establish similar programs within the respective banks to provide credit to microenterprises for small scale economic activities.
(c)Each annual report to the Congress by the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies shall describe the status of the microenterprise credit promotion activities of each of the institutions referred to in subsection (a) or (b).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification section 1603 of Pub. L. 95–118 is based on section 701 of title VII of H.R. 3750, One Hundredth Congress, as introduced Dec. 11, 1987, and enacted into law by Pub. L. 100–202.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Definitions The definitions in section 262p–5 of this title apply to this section.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 262p–2

Title 22Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73