MANILA - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday it has approved $3.4 billion in new loans to help Asian nations overcome the global economic crisis.

The Manila-based lender said $3 billion in loans would be made available through a previously announced counter-cyclical facility, which will carry market-linked rates of interest.

It said $400 million will be available for poorer nations on concessional rates of interest.

Conditions for accessing the facility include a significant slowdown in growth, exports and remittances; fiscal constraints; and difficulty in sourcing finance from international capital markets on favourable terms, the ADB said.

It gave no details on loans to individual nations.