The US administration has endorsed a trebling of the Asian Development Bank's capital to $165bn, setting the stage for a resolution to a long-running wrangle over whether the Asian lender should be granted more money amid US-led concerns about its efficiency and project evaluation standards.

The Treasury's backing for the capital increase, which is expected to be discussed on Monday at an ADB board meeting, will come as a relief to the bank, whose management had warned that without extra money its lending would be halved - just as Asia faces a plunge in exports and countries struggle with a recession.