Leaders of five emerging market countries have launched a new $100bn development bank. <br /><br />Known as the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa -they agreed the aim of the bank will be to fund infrastructure projects in developing countries.<br /><br />It will be based in Shanghai and as its first president will be Indian, it was left to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain its ethos:<br /><br />“It will benefit BRICS nations, but will also support other developing nations. And it will be rooted in our own experiences as developing countries.”<br /><br />The bank is the group’s first concrete step towards reshaping the Western-dominated international financial system.<br /><br />The group which was meeting in Fortaleza in Brazil also set up a $100bn currency reserve pool to help countries forestall short-term liquidity pressures.<br /><br />BRICS nations have long criticised the World bank and the International Monetary Fund for not giving developing nations enough voting rights within their organisations.
