BRICS Expansion Raises Questions Over NDB’s Ability to Support Growing Economic Ambitions

Source: Asianet News Hindi | Original Published At: 2026-09-11 03:05:12 UTC

Key Points

• The 2025 BRICS Leaders Declaration emphasized better alignment of the New Development Bank with BRICS' emerging financial agenda.
• BRICS agreed to pilot the BRICS Multilateral Guarantees initiative within the NDB and to deepen dialogue between the NDB and the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism.
• NDB membership has expanded beyond its five founding countries to include Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, and Uzbekistan, while Uruguay has been accepted as a potential member.
• The NDB has an authorized capital of $100 billion, with founding members retaining a combined voting power of at least 55% and non-founder members capped at 7% shareholding.
• The NDB holds strong credit ratings, including AA+ from S&P, AA from Fitch, and AAA from Japan Credit Rating Agency, supporting its ability to raise capital in international markets.
• The bank aims to finance 30% of its total funding in member countries' local currencies and has issued 7 billion yuan Panda bonds in China, raised funds in South African rand, and considered local-currency issuance in India.
• For India, the NDB's balanced multilateral character is seen as important to reduce dollar dependence without becoming overly reliant on another single currency or resembling China-led financial institutions.