Canada pushes to launch global defence bank at NATO summit

Canada is aiming to unveil around 10 founding member states for a proposed global defence bank at next week's NATO summit in Ankara, as Ottawa pushes forward with a multilateral initiative designed to strengthen allied defence financing, Reuters reports.

The proposed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), championed by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, forms part of his broader vision for an alliance of "middle powers" to respond to what he sees as the fragmentation of the traditional US-led international order.

"We gave ourselves the NATO summit as a deadline... What we are aiming to announce is the list of founding members," Isabelle Hudon, Canada's lead negotiator for the initiative and chief executive of the Business Development Bank of Canada, told Reuters.

The DSRB is intended to raise up to £100 billion ($133 billion) in low-cost financing to strengthen the defence capabilities of allied nations.

Hudon said the initial group of participating countries would likely consist of Canada and several European states, although she declined to identify them. She cautioned that the announcement remained contingent on final negotiations, particularly regarding capital commitments.

"My prime minister said we should not aim for perfection before launching this initiative, that we should rally the countries that are ready to be called founding members, and then the membership will stay open," she said.

The project's long-term viability, however, will depend on attracting enough major economies to secure a coveted triple-A credit rating.

 Hudon said discussions with South Korea had been productive, with a "50-50 chance" that Seoul could join at a later stage. Germany has joined the talks as an observer, while Italy, Spain, Türkiye, Belgium and Ukraine have also reviewed the proposal, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

 Britain has so far opted to pursue its own defence financing initiative with the Netherlands and Finland, although officials have explored possible coordination or integration with the DSRB.

"The capital is the most challenging part of the decision," Hudon said, referring to negotiations over member contributions.

 Former NATO advisers, retired military leaders and banking executives first proposed the DSRB in 2024 as allies faced growing security challenges stemming from the war in Ukraine, heightened tensions with Russia and China's expanding military capabilities. Leading international financial institutions, including JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, ING and several major Canadian banks, have joined the initiative.

By Vafa Guliyeva