LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) – Canada is set to host a proposed mulitlateral defence bank designed to help fund the rearmament of nations facing heightened geopolitical risks, the country’s finance ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The statement said Canada had been working in Montreal with allies to agree a founding charter for the planned Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB). The other countries were not identified.
The DSRB has been proposed by former NATO security advisers, senior ex-military personnel and bankers. Its aim is to found a triple-A rated institution capable of raising 100 billion pounds ($135 billion) to fund defence projects, particularly in countries that may struggle to access cheaper finance.
“Participating countries unanimously supported that, once ratified, Canada, which hosted the negotiations, will serve as host country for the DSRB’s future headquarters,” the country’s finance ministry said.
Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail was first to report Canada was set to host the bank.
Canada has been the project’s most high profile backer, with Prime Minister Mark Carney also voicing support. However, the initiative has also faced set-backs, with both Britain and Germany distancing themselves.
Britain has separately championed its own multilateral finance initiative with the Netherlands and Finland to help drum up private finance to procure weapons, munitions and military equipment.
“These negotiations are a crucial step in taking the DSRB from idea to reality and launching this new defence-focused multilateral bank. The time to act is now, and I look forward to continuing working with our partners to establish and launch the DSRB,” said Canada’s Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
The DSRB is also working with several high profile banks to support its launch, including JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Canada.
($1 = 0.7415 pounds)
(Reporting by Iain Withers, Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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