Banker S.A. March 2012 | Page 61

BANKING NEWS SOUTH AFRICA WWW.NEWSTOPNIGHT.IN South African News 60 SA BANKER Edition 1 BRICS Commits to Development Bank LEADERS OF THE FIVE-NATION BRICS bloc have directed their finance ministers to work towards forming a Development Bank aimed at catering for the needs of developing countries. In a declaration issued in New Delhi after their fourth summit, leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa said the envisaged bank would mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies. The five leaders have mandated their finance ministers to examine the feasibility and viability of such an initiative and report back at the next summit. A BRICS-led development bank would seek to encourage investment in a more sustainable and productive manner for the financing of infrastructure. The plan is also seen as a potential counter-weight to other multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. ‘We call for further international financial regulatory oversight and reform, strengthening policy co-ordination and financial regulation and supervision co-operation, and promoting the sound development of global financial markets and banking systems,’ reads the declaration.