Manila - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Friday that it approved a total of 10.5 billion dollars in loans in 2008, the highest in its 42-year history.

The Manila-based bank said the rise in loans reflected the region's ever-increasing demand for assistance to deal with the impact of the global economic crisis.

"ADB responded quickly to the global financial crisis, allocating over 4 billion dollars of additional resources to support the efforts for its developing member countries," bank President Haruhiko Kuroda said.

India was the largest borrower with 2.9 billion dollars, or 27.4 per cent of the total loans extended last year.

Loans with government guarantees totaled 8.7 billion dollars for 72 projects last year. The bank also approved 811.4 million dollars in grants in 2008, up 20.6 per cent from the previous year.(dpa)