BRICS bank at a crossroads

Source: The Financial Express | Original Published At: 2026-09-08 16:00:28 UTC

Key Points

• The author urges the New Development Bank to prioritize transition finance for hard-to-abate sectors, including steel, cement, chemicals, aviation and shipping.
• The article identifies conservative capital leverage as a constraint and recommends stronger risk management and portfolio diversification to expand lending capacity.
• The author proposes exploring re-channelled special drawing rights as hybrid capital to strengthen the bank's capital base.
• The article recommends blended finance, guarantees, first-loss protection and equity to support more private-sector projects.
• The author argues that local-currency lending should mobilize overseas savings to increase available investment resources, while domestically funded lending can extend loan maturities.
• India is presented as a major potential beneficiary, with the forthcoming BRICS summit identified as an occasion to advance these reforms.