BRICS Bank to Become More Important for Russia Than World Bank

Given time, BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) can play a more significant role for Russia than the World Bank, VTB bank head Andrei Kostin said Wednesday.

UFA (Sputnik) – According to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, the volume of paid-up capital of the NDB is expected to make $10 billion lodged by member states. The dedicated capital is about $50 billion, while the authorized stock stands at $100 billion.

"The bank … will be able to finance significant projects, including those in Russia. I think it will become a prominent player in this sphere and will play a bigger role than the World Bank, at least for Russia," Andrei Kostin said in an interview with RT television.

The NDB was created in July 2014 by the BRICS member states — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects.

The bank has a currency pool of $100 billion. China has pledged to contribute an estimated $41 billion. Russia, India and Brazil will contribute $18 billion each, while South Africa has pledged $5 billion.

The five emerging economies’ central banks signed an operating agreement on the currency reserve pool at the BRICS/SCO summit in the southwest Russian city of Ufa earlier Wednesday.