Date set for operational start of new Brics bank

The New Development Bank (NDB) set up by the five Brics nations is expected to start operating in the first quarter of next year, according to reports out of Ufa in Russia where representatives from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met last week.

While member countries will primarily be the focus of the credit facility, a decision to open membership for other countries will be taken in the next few months by the bank's board of governors, according to the Economic Times of India.

The bank - to be based in Shanghai – is seen as a “helpful alternative to the Western-dominated institutes in global finance," according to a Xinhua opinion piece.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said the bank would finance large-scale transport and energy projects and industrial development.