The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
- The Bank supports public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments.
- It is headquartered in Shanghai, China. The first regional office of the NDB will be opened in Johannesburg, South Africa.
- The idea for setting up the bank was proposed by India at the 4th BRICS summit in 2012 held in Delhi.
- Bank’s Articles of Agreement specify that all members of the United Nations could be members of the bank; however the share of the BRICS nations can never be less than 55% of voting power.
- The Agreement on the NDB specifies that the voting power of each member will be equal to the number of its subscribed shares in the capital stock of the bank
- The initial authorized capital of the bank is $100 billion and initial subscribed capital of the NDB is $50 billion.
- The bank aims to contribute to development plans established nationally through projects that are socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.
- The bank’s primary focus of lending will be infrastructure and sustained development projects.