ADB should focus on core mission to help poor-U.S

TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States urged the Asian Development Bank on Sunday to stick to its core mission of helping the poor even as many countries in the region begin to enjoy economic success.

The ADB is under pressure to reexamine its role to keep pace with growing economies in the region.

It is aiming to finish a review on how to prioritize its work to better serve its 67 member countries, ranging from struggling Bangladesh and Pakistan to booming China and India, as well as its largest donors Japan and the United States.

"The most basic mission was and is to leverage the resources of the international community for countries that lack access to affordable private capital to help create jobs, economic growth and higher living standard for some of the world's most desperate poor," said Kenneth Peel, U.S. deputy assistant treasury secretary.

"These should remain the central organizing principles of the Bank. Our decisions on the Bank's future must grow from them," Peel said in a speech to the ADB board of governors' meeting at the agency's annual gathering in Kyoto, western Japan.

He said the Manila-based agency should focus on how it can best serve the poor countries that continue to need its help, adding that it should prioritize its work on the finite number of areas where it has a comparative advantage.

"It should remain steadfast to the original mandate as an economic development institution, not seek new mandates that stray from this mission," Peel said.

"The Bank does not need to compete with private venture capital funds. It does not need to become a money manager for central banks. It does not need to become a mini IMF."