The New Development Bank: Membership Expansion and Results of Its Operations Since Inception

This year marks a significant milestone for the New Development Bank (the NDB, the Bank), celebrating a decade of operations since its inception in July 2015. This Bank was initially considered as a potential alternative to the existing development financial institutions dominated by the Western influence and agenda, and its establishment at the BRICS Summit 2014 was a testament to the successful collaboration among the founding nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — within the financial track. The NDB was de facto the first global multilateral development bank created solely by developing countries, with the initial subscribed capital of $50 billion. 

At the same time, the mandate of the NDB, as stated in Article 2 of Chapter 1 of the Agreement on the New Development Bank, was defined as to "…mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging market economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development". Like other multilateral development banks, the NDB provides a full range of financing options such as debt financing (loans, loan facilities, subscription to bonds, trade financing, etc.), equity investments, guarantees, credit enhancement instruments and technical assistance programmes for its clients focused on capacity building for project implementation.

The main areas of the Bank’s operations, according to its own classification, were defined as: (1) clean energy and energy efficiency, (2) transport infrastructure development, (3) constructing and modernising water supply and sanitation systems, developing (4) social and (5) digital infrastructure, and (6) environmental protection. As of the end of July 2025, the Board of Directors has approved 112 projects worth $37 billion equivalent since its inception. The geography of the Bank's operations has steadily broadened with the inclusion of new member states. In 2021, Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates joined the NDB; Egypt followed in 2023, and Algeria became a member in 2025. Additionally, Uruguay is currently in the process of depositing its instruments of accession. 

Over the past decade, the following distinctive features have characterised the NDB's activities. Firstly, between 2016 and 2020, the volume of projects the Bank signed for financing expanded progressively, rising from $1.5 billion to $8.6 billion annually. However, this upward trend was corrected downwards by the COVID-19 pandemic and the tightening of sanctions imposed by Western nations against the Russian Federation in 2022, leading to a decline in the annual volume of the NDB operations to $1.7 billion during 2023 and $3.2 billion in 2024. Consequently, the Bank was forced to put on hold new loan disbursements and new project approvals in Russia — one of its five founding members that contributed $2 billion to its paid-in capital and subscribed to additional $8 billion of the callable capital. In this context, it becomes vital for the NDB, as an active financial market participant that issue bonds denominated in both reserve and local currencies to finance operations according to its mandate — to strike a balance between the interests of its shareholders and the influence of international financial institutions. Moreover, it is important in light of the planned volume of operations of $30 billion, or approximately $6 billion a year, that was outlined in the Bank’s current Strategy for 2022–2026.

Secondly, the NDB’s list of members (and its geography of operations) does not entirely align with that of BRICS. Currently, BRICS comprises ten nations: Egypt, Iran, the UAE, and Ethiopia joined the five founding countries in 2024, and Indonesia followed in 2025. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has not confirmed its membership yet. While Iran, Ethiopia, and Indonesia are part of BRICS, they have not yet joined the NDB. Conversely, Algeria and Bangladesh are shareholders of the NDB but are not members of BRICS. On the one hand, such a structure offers an opportunity to broaden the group's interactions with partner states. On the other hand, the absence of several BRICS members among the Bank's shareholders may limit opportunities for joint investment projects and deepening cooperation in the financial sector. Overall, increasing the number of shareholders will enable the NDB to broaden geography of its operations, diversify its project portfolio and associated credit risks, thereby contributing positively to its clout among financial institutions in the world. At the same time, it is essential that new NDB participants maintain an independent stance regarding external sanctions pressure.

Thirdly, the Bank has primarily focused on implementing sovereign projects, with borrowers being the central/federal governments of its countries of operations. A total of 85 projects — accounting for 76% of all operations with the volume investments of $32.2 billion equivalent that represents 87% of total NDB financing — belong to this category. Among other 27 projects worth $4.9 billion, seven projects for $1.2 billion were or are realised with international and national development finance institutions as the Bank’s clients. It is also noteworthy that there is a significant concentration of non-sovereign projects in two countries of operations, namely Brazil (eight projects totalling $1.6 billion) and the Russian Federation (seven projects worth $1.7 billion). Thus, the NDB has a considerable untapped potential for expanding its operations in the non-governmental sector. 

Fourthly, the Bank channelled its financing mainly to transport infrastructure, signing 45 operations worth $16 billion that represented 43% of the total investments by the NDB over the decade, and to clean energy and energy efficiency (17 projects for $3.9 billion, or 11% of its total funding). During the years of 2020–2021, the NDB additionally allocated $8.2 billion (22%) to assist its founding countries in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, it implemented five projects totalling $1.3 billion in the sectors of social and digital infrastructure and six operations amounting to $1.4 billion focused on environmental protection. In light of these numbers, a moderate diversification of the project portfolio across its key sectors would enable the Bank to fulfil its mandate more thoroughly and comprehensively in the medium term. 

Fifthly, two-thirds of the NDB total financing (76 projects totalling $24.5 billion) were provided to the clients in US dollars whereas only 26% of funds were nominated in local currencies. Notably, most operations in the national currencies of the BRICS members were realised in China, with 21 projects financed in yuan amounting to $7.3 billion equivalent, and additionally six operations were financed in South African rands worth $2.5 billion equivalent. At the same time, there have been no approved loans denominated in currencies of other NDB member countries yet. Recalling the guidelines set forth in the current NDB Strategy for 2022–2026aiming at local currency financing to account for 30% of total operations, it is crucial to enhance the NDB's positive impact on capital markets across possibly all countries of operation and to strengthen cooperation with national central banks to boost lending in BRICS currencies.

In summary, the productive experience gained during the first decade of operations, has equipped the New Development Bank with effective tools to enable progressive expansion of its operational activities and dynamic growth in the interests of both its shareholders and BRICS as a whole.