By Iain Withers
LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) – Canada is set to host a proposed multilateral defence bank designed to help fund the rearmament of nations facing heightened geopolitical risks, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday.
Carney spoke after the federal finance ministry said Canada had been working in Montreal with allies to agree on a founding charter for the planned Defence, Security and Resilience Bank. The other countries were not identified.
The DSRB was proposed by former NATO security advisers, senior ex-military personnel and bankers. It aims to be a triple-A rated institution capable of raising 100 billion pounds ($135 billion) to fund defence projects, particularly in countries that 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.
The Globe and Mail newspaper first reported that Canada was set to host the bank.
Canada has been the project’s most high-profile backer. However, the initiative has also faced setbacks, with Britain and Germany distancing themselves.
“It’s the first step; there’s more to be done. This will unfold over certainly months, and I would say over quarters, in terms of process to move forward, but it’s a very welcome development,” Carney told reporters in Oakville, Ontario, saying more nations might become members.
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.
The DSRB is also working with several banks to support its launch, including JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Canada.
($1 = 0.7415 pounds)
(Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa;Editing by Anousha Sakoui, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Rod Nickel)
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