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BRICS Bank to be set up in Shanghai, first president from India

by IBNS 16 Jul 2014, 12:30 pm

Fortaleaza, Brazil, Feb 16 (IBNS) Leaders of the BRICS nations meeting in Brazil has declared to set up a $100 billion development bank to be headquarterd in Shanghai and a currency reserve pool on Tuesday.

Though the bank will be set up in Shanghai, India will head it with the first president from this country. 

In its declaration at Fortaleza at the Sixth Brics Summit, being attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they said: "BRICS, as well as other EMDCs, continue to face significant financing constraints to address infrastructure gaps and sustainable development needs. With this in mind, we are pleased to announce the signing of the Agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB), with the purpose of mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging and developing economies."

"We appreciate the work undertaken by our Finance Ministers. Based on sound banking principles, the NDB will strengthen the cooperation among our countries and will supplement the efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global development, thus contributing to our collective commitments for achieving the goal of strong, sustainable and balanced growth," it said.

 The Bank shall have an initial authorized capital of US$ 100 billion. The initial subscribed capital shall be of US$ 50 billion, equally shared among founding members. 

The first chair of the Board of Governors shall be from Russia. The first chair of the Board of Directors shall be from Brazil. The first President of the Bank shall be from India. The headquarters of the Bank shall be located in Shanghai. 

The New Development Bank Africa Regional Center shall be established in South Africa concurrently with the headquarters. We direct our Finance Ministers to work out the modalities for its operationalization.

BRICS also announced the signing of the Treaty for the establishment of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) with an initial size of US$ 100 billion. This arrangement will have a positive precautionary effect, help countries forestall short-term liquidity pressures, promote further BRICS cooperation, strengthen the global financial safety net and complement existing international arrangements. 

"We appreciate the work undertaken by our Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors. The Agreement is a framework for the provision of liquidity through currency swaps in response to actual or potential short-term balance of payments pressures," a statement of the BRICS declaration said.

"We also welcome the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation among BRICS Export Credit and Guarantees Agencies that will improve the support environment for increasing trade opportunities among our nations," it said.

BRICS appreciated the progress their Development Banks have made in enhancing and strengthening the financial ties among BRICS countries.