Brazilian Parliament begins ratification of Agreement on New BRICS Development Bank

The Chamber of Deputies of the Federative Republic of Brazil's National Congress (i.e. the lower chamber of parliament) approved the agreement on the establishment of the BRICS New Development Bank on 21 May 2015, according to a statement released on the Congress' official website.

The agreement was signed on 15 July 2014 at the BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, and provides for the establishment of a lending institution for funding infrastructure projects and sustainable development initiatives within BRICS and in developing countries.

The parliament has also passed a bill to ratify the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement.

According to the document, if one of the national financial systems lacks USD liquidity, the BRICS central banks will step in to support the requesting party by providing it with USD that shall be immediately due and payable. Specific parameters of such transactions are to be set forth in a special agreement between central banks.

The BRICS New Development Bank and Contingent Reserve Arrangement are currently the major substantive initiatives of the association.