BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement

Last updated

The BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) is a framework for the provision of support through liquidity and precautionary instruments in response to actual or potential short-term balance of payments pressures. [1] It was established in 2015 by the BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The legal basis is formed by the Treaty for the Establishment of a BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, signed at Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July 2014. It entered into force upon ratification by all BRICS states, announced at the 7th BRICS summit in July 2015.

Contents

The objective of this reserve is to provide protection against global liquidity pressures. [2] [3] [4] This includes currency issues where members' national currencies are being adversely affected by global financial pressures. [2] [4] The CRA is generally seen as a competitor to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and along with the New Development Bank is viewed as an example of increasing South-South cooperation. [2]

The CRA's "liquidity instrument" is the central bank liquidity swap. When a borrowing country ("Requesting Party") requests to draw funds, the central banks of the other countries ("Providing Parties") agree to sell and repurchase U.S. dollars with the borrowing country's central bank. Both the spot and forward legs of the swap are executed at the spot rate, however the borrowing country must pay a predetermined interest rate in dollars to the lending countries. [1]

The capital of $100 billion is distributed as follows: [5] The maximum access states can request from the Arrangement is half (China) to twice (South Africa) the amount of capital contributed.

CountryCapital contribution [5]
(billion US$)
Access to Funds
(billion US$)
Voting Rights (%) [6]
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 181818.10
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 412139.95
Flag of India.svg  India 181818.10
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 181818.10
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 5105.75
Grand Total10085100.00

The arrangement is scheduled to start lending in 2016. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Monetary Fund</span> International financial institution

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 190 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of last resort to national governments, and a leading supporter of exchange-rate stability. Its stated mission is "working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reserve currency</span> Currencies held by monetary authorities as part of their foreign exchange reserves

A reserve currency is a foreign currency that is held in significant quantities by central banks or other monetary authorities as part of their foreign exchange reserves. The reserve currency can be used in international transactions, international investments and all aspects of the global economy. It is often considered a hard currency or safe-haven currency.

The money market is a component of the economy that provides short-term funds. The money market deals in short-term loans, generally for a period of a year or less.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reserve Bank of India</span> Central Bank of India

The Reserve Bank of India is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. Owned by the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India, it is responsible for the control, issue and maintaining supply of the Indian rupee. It also manages the country's main payment systems and works to promote its economic development.

In macroeconomics, an open market operation (OMO) is an activity by a central bank to exchange liquidity in its currency with a bank or a group of banks. The central bank can either transact government bonds and other financial assets in the open market or enter into a repurchase agreement or secured lending transaction with a commercial bank. The latter option, often preferred by central banks, involves them making fixed period deposits at commercial banks with the security of eligible assets as collateral.

In finance, a currency swap is an interest rate derivative (IRD). In particular it is a linear IRD, and one of the most liquid benchmark products spanning multiple currencies simultaneously. It has pricing associations with interest rate swaps (IRSs), foreign exchange (FX) rates, and FX swaps (FXSs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Term auction facility</span> Temporary Program

The Term Auction Facility (TAF) was a temporary program managed by the United States Federal Reserve designed to "address elevated pressures in short-term funding markets." Under the program the Fed auctions collateralized loans with terms of 28 and 84 days to depository institutions that are "in generally sound financial condition" and "are expected to remain so over the terms of TAF loans." Eligible collateral is the same as that accepted for discount window loans and includes a wide range of financial assets. The program was instituted in December 2007 in response to problems associated with the subprime mortgage crisis and was motivated by a desire to address a widening spread between interest rates on overnight and term interbank lending, indicating a retreat from risk-taking by banks. The action was in coordination with simultaneous and similar initiatives undertaken by the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiang Mai Initiative</span> Multilateral currency swap arrangement

The Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) is a multilateral currency swap arrangement among the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea. It draws from a foreign exchange reserves pool worth US$120 billion and was launched on 24 March 2010. That pool has been expanded to $240 billion in 2012.

The U.S. central banking system, the Federal Reserve, in partnership with central banks around the world, took several steps to address the subprime mortgage crisis. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated in early 2008: "Broadly, the Federal Reserve’s response has followed two tracks: efforts to support market liquidity and functioning and the pursuit of our macroeconomic objectives through monetary policy." A 2011 study by the Government Accountability Office found that "on numerous occasions in 2008 and 2009, the Federal Reserve Board invoked emergency authority under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 to authorize new broad-based programs and financial assistance to individual institutions to stabilize financial markets. Loans outstanding for the emergency programs peaked at more than $1 trillion in late 2008."

An overnight indexed swap (OIS) is an interest rate swap (IRS) over some given term, e.g. 10Y, where the periodic fixed payments are tied to a given fixed rate while the periodic floating payments are tied to a floating rate calculated from a daily compounded overnight rate over the floating coupon period. Note that the OIS term is not overnight; it is the underlying reference rate that is an overnight rate. The exact compounding formula depends on the type of such overnight rate.

Central bank liquidity swap is a type of currency swap used by a country's central bank to provide liquidity of its currency to another country's central bank. In a liquidity swap, the lending central bank uses its currency to buy the currency of another borrowing central bank at the market exchange rate, and agrees to sell the borrower's currency back at a rate that reflects the interest accrued on the loan. The borrower's currency serves as collateral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BRICS</span> Intergovernmental organization of emerging countries

BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising nine countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. BRICS was originally identified to highlight investment opportunities. The grouping evolved into a geopolitical bloc, with their governments meeting annually at formal summits and coordinating multilateral policies since 2009. Relations among BRICS are conducted mainly based on non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit.

International lender of last resort (ILLR) is a facility prepared to act when no other lender is capable or willing to lend in sufficient volume to provide or guarantee liquidity in order to avert a sovereign debt crisis or a systemic crisis. No effective international lender of last resort currently exists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th BRICS summit</span> 2012 international summit in New Dehli, India

The 2012 BRICS summit was the fourth annual BRICS summit, an international relations conference attended by the heads of state or heads of government of the five member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The summit was held at Taj Hotel in New Delhi, India on 29 March 2012 and began at 10:00 Indian Standard Time. This is the first time that India has hosted a BRICS summit. The theme of the summit was "BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Development Bank</span> Multilateral development bank of the BRICS states

The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states. According to the Agreement on the NDB, "the Bank shall support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments." Moreover, the NDB "shall cooperate with international organizations and other financial entities, and provide technical assistance for projects to be supported by the Bank."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th BRICS summit</span> 2014 international summit in Brazil

The 6th BRICS summit was the sixth annual diplomatic meeting of the BRICS, a grouping of major emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It was hosted by Brazil, as the first host country of the current five-year summit cycle; the host city was Fortaleza. Though Brazil had previously hosted a four-member BRIC summit in April 2010, 2014 marked its first full BRICS summit; the 2010 summit in Brasília did not officially include South Africa, who were only invited as guests as a prelude to their gaining full membership in December 2010. Argentine President Cristina Kirchner was a special guest of the summit, and the BRICS leaders met with their UNASUR counterparts shortly after. The 6th BRICS summit resulted in the official inauguration of the New Development Bank, a multilateral development bank intended as an alternative to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Since the late-2000s, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has sought to internationalize its official currency, the Renminbi (RMB). RMB internationalization accelerated in 2009 when China established the dim sum bond market and expanded Cross-Border Trade RMB Settlement Pilot Project, which helps establish pools of offshore RMB liquidity. The RMB was the 8th-most-traded currency in the world in 2013 and the 7th-most-traded in early 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th BRICS summit</span> 2015 international summit in Ufa, Russia

The 7th BRICS summit was the seventh annual diplomatic summit of the head of states or government of the BRICS member states. It was held in the Russian city of Ufa in Bashkortostan on 8–9 July 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dedollarisation</span> Replacing US dollar for other currencies

Dedollarisation refers to countries reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency, medium of exchange or as a unit of account. It also entails the creation of an alternative global financial and technological system in order to gain more economic independence by circumventing the dependence on the Western World-controlled systems, such as SWIFT financial transfers network for the international trade and payments, which could be economically weaponised by America and it's Western World allies against other nations. Since the establishment of the Bretton Woods system, the US dollar has been used as the medium for international trade. The United States Department of the Treasury exercises considerable oversight over the SWIFT financial transfers network, and consequently has a huge sway on the global financial transactions systems, with the ability to impose economic sanctions on foreign entities and individuals. Many entities, such as BRICS, are working on creating an alternative to the SWIFT for a more balanced world.

The 2022 BRICS summit is the fourteenth annual BRICS summit, an international relations conference attended by the heads of state or heads of government of the five member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It was the third time that China hosted the BRICS Summit after 2011 and 2017. The summit was hosted virtually by video conference.

References

  1. 1 2 "Treaty for the Establishment of a BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement". Government of Brazil. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "What the new bank of BRICS is all about". The Washington Post. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 "BRICS Bank ready for launch - Russian Finance Minister". Russia & India Report. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  4. 1 2 "BRICS currency fund to protect members from volatility - Russia's top banker". Russia & India Report. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  5. 1 2 "BRICS Development bank top on Agenda of 6th BRICS Summit". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  6. http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140719000069&cid=1203%5B‍%5D Beijing dominates voting rights of BRICS reserve pool