Broad consensus reached on new Brics bank

The five Brics nations have reached a broad consensus on their $100-billion development bank though some differences remain, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Monday ahead of a summit in Brazil next week to be attended by President Xi Jinping.

The new bank will symbolise the growing influence of emerging economies in the global financial architecture long dominated by the US and Europe through the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are expected to sign a treaty to launch the bank officially when they meet at a Brics summit in the northern Brazilian city of Fortaleza on July 15.

The new development bank would help cover growing demand for project financing that has not been entirely met by global multilaterals, which, for years, have been heavily criticised for meddling in the domestic policies of sovereign borrowers.