The Evolution of the New Development Bank

In July 2015, the New Development Bank (NDB), formerly the BRICS Development Bank, was established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Since then, the NDB has built an impressive record of milestones, each one laying the groundwork for careful institutional building. 

Nearly a decade since the founding of the NDB and more than two decades since Jim O’Neill originally coined the term ‘BRICs,’ what has been the growth and evolution of the BRICs-led NDB? 

For the journal Global Policy, Gregory T. Chin edited a new Policy Insights Special Section consisting of 10 articles by a diverse group of scholars assessing the evolution and growth of the NDB in its first decade.

In his introduction, Chin summarizes the achievements of the NDB to date, the evolving research agendas and scholarly debates on the NDB and the subtle shifts in focus, goals and agenda of the Bank from its initial establishment to the current period as the NDB enters its second decade. 

In the special issue, the contributing authors explore the evolution of the NDB and its role in the global financial architecture, the unique characteristics of the NDB’s governance as compared with other multilateral development banks (MDBs), the rationale and impacts of adding new members and increasing multipolarity, and the NDB’s organizational evolution.

Returning to Jim O’Neill’s foundational thinking on the ‘BRICs,’ contributors examine the development of the Bank in relation to the question of the progress and future of the BRICS. An analysis of the NDB’s creation and growth within the agenda of Southern diplomacy and Southern multilateralism and potential future global-regional positioning of the BRICS is also presented. Three contributions chronicle the accession process and implications for Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay.

The collection also delves into the essentials of other dimensions of the NDB’s organizational growth. A case study of the NDB in Africa and the African Regional Centre is examined, in addition to the NDB’s early days and the potential role of their Americas Regional Office. The special issue also includes details on the Bank’s strategic outreach and partnership strategy, the unique implementation path and the successes and challenges encountered. 

Valuable insider perspectives from a former senior official in the NDB and a former senior official of the World Bank assess the degree to which the NDB represents change and continuity within the MDB family and in the policy, normative and institutional landscape of international development finance at the global system level.