BRICS Bank Expands Role in Global Finance, but Can It Rival the World Bank and IMF?

The New Development Bank (NDB), widely known as the BRICS Bank, is seeking to strengthen its position as an alternative source of development finance for emerging economies.

Created by the BRICS countries more than a decade ago, the Shanghai-based institution has expanded its membership and increased lending in local currencies. Its growth reflects efforts by emerging economies to diversify their sources of development funding and reduce exposure to the traditional Western-led financial system.

However, the NDB remains significantly smaller than the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), meaning that replacing the institutions that have dominated global development and financial support for decades remains a distant prospect.

A growing development lender

By the end of 2025, the NDB had approved projects worth about $42.9 billion, according to figures cited in the WION report.

The bank has an authorised capital of $100 billion. By comparison, the World Bank's authorised capital is around $327 billion, while the IMF operates with a quota base of roughly $646 billion.

The difference highlights the scale challenge facing the NDB. Yet supporters argue that the institution's relatively young age gives it considerable room to expand.

Since its creation by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the NDB has expanded to 11 members.

Projects across emerging economies

The bank has financed infrastructure and development projects in several member countries.

In India, its financing has included the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System. In China, it has supported an offshore wind power project that generated more than 1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity during its first year.

In Brazil, NDB-backed investment has supported improvements to water supply and sanitation in Pernambuco, benefiting around 2 million people. The bank has also financed efforts to modernise the Port of Durban in South Africa.

These projects demonstrate the NDB's focus on infrastructure, transport, energy and public services—areas that remain important for developing economies.

Local currencies are becoming more important

One of the NDB's key differences is its push to increase lending in currencies other than the US dollar.

Under President Dilma Rousseff, the bank has expanded its local-currency financing. Local currencies, including the Chinese yuan, Indian rupee and South African rand, are increasingly being used as part of its financing strategy.

The bank's local-currency lending had reached about 25 per cent, with a target of around 30 per cent by 2026, according to the report.

Greater use of local currencies could help borrowing countries reduce their exposure to fluctuations in the US dollar and changes in US monetary policy.

Still connected to the existing financial system

Despite its ambitions, the NDB is not completely independent of the financial structures it seeks to diversify.

The bank raises funds through international capital markets and remains dependent on major financial institutions and global investors. Its creditworthiness is also assessed by international rating agencies.

This dependence became particularly visible after Russia faced Western sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The NDB suspended new transactions involving Russia as it sought to comply with applicable international restrictions and protect its financial standing.

As a result, the NDB's role is better understood as an alternative within the existing international financial system, rather than a replacement for it.

Can the BRICS Bank replace the World Bank and IMF?

For now, the answer appears to be no.

The World Bank and IMF have decades of institutional experience, much larger financial resources and an extensive global network. The NDB's lending capacity is still a fraction of their combined scale.

Its importance, however, may lie elsewhere.

The bank gives emerging economies another source of financing and provides BRICS members with a platform to increase the use of local currencies in cross-border development finance.

Its equal-voting structure also gives smaller member countries a formal voice that is not directly proportional to the size of their economies.

Rather than displacing the World Bank and IMF, the NDB may therefore contribute to a more diversified global financial system, where developing countries have more than one major source of development funding.

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