New Development Bank
The NDB is a multilateral development bank (MDB) created to mobilize resources to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in developing countries.
Origin and establishment
During the VI BRICS Summit, held in Fortaleza in 2014, a new cycle in the history of the group was inaugurated with the establishment of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement.
The NDB is a multilateral development bank established with the goal of mobilizing resources to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in developing countries.
The decision to constitute the NDB was based on a viability study led by the national ministries of finance, which identified: (i) the need for financing in developing countries not covered by traditional multilateral financial institutions such as the World Bank; and (ii) the reduction in international credit capacity for development purposes.
The authorized capital of the NDB is 100 billion dollars. The paid-in capital is 52.7 billion dollars. There are 96 projects approved to date, with a total financing of 32.8 billion dollars.
NDB governance
The NDB is based in Shanghai and has offices in São Paulo and Gujarat, India.
It is administered by the Board of Governors and composed of its members’ ministries of finance.
The bank has a rotating presidency that is periodically occupied by a representative from a BRICS country, while the other countries are responsible for nominating the four vice presidents.
The NDB has been presided over since 2023 by Dilma Rousseff, whose mandate will end in July 2025. The decision to extend the mandate is currently under discussion.
NDB members
In addition to Brasil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — the founding members of the NDB — the bank's membership expanded between 2021 and 2023 to include Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. Uruguay and Algeria are currently in the process of joining.
The new BRICS members are expected to join the NDB, a process that will follow the terms and procedures stated in the bank’s constitutive agreement.
Adhesion to the BRICS does not guarantee membership in the NDB.
NDB projects in Brasil
In the context of the NDB, Brasil has an active portfolio of approximately USD 5 billion in sustainable infrastructure projects, emergency income support programs, sustainable mobility, climate change adaptation, basic sanitation, and renewable energy.
For more information, access: https://www.ndb.int/
Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA)
The Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) is a mutual financial support platform to which BRICS members can turn in the event of difficulties in their balance of payments.
The CRA is fully operational and can be accessed at any time by initiative of one of the members.
Through the CRA, members commit to provide international reserves in the amount of up to USD 100 billion, thus distributed: China (USD 41 billion), Brasil (USD 18 Bi), India (USD 18 Bi), Russia (USD 18 Bi) and South Africa (USD 5 Bi).
BRICS new members can request adhesion to the CRA, which will be analyzed by the agency’s Governing Board, in line with the Treaty for the Establishment of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, dated July 15, 2014. In Brasil, the CRA was implemented through Decree No. 8,702/2016 [1] (Decreto n. 8,702/2016).
Up until this moment, no participant country has needed to request CRA resources.