BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) -Deutsche Bank supports the establishment of the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), an initiative to create a global state-backed defence bank to fund countries’ rearmament, it said on Wednesday.
Deutsche Bank has joined rivals already signed up including JPMorgan and Commerzbank in assisting the proposed multilateral lender, according to the DSRB’s website. A DSRB spokesperson declined to comment.
Deutsche Bank did not specify how it was helping. Other banks have said they were providing technical assistance to get DSRB up and running, while Dutch lender ING said it provided a start-up loan.
“Deutsche Bank is committed to continuing to support ongoing efforts by the EU, the German government, the UK government and others to enhance defence resilience in Europe,” the bank said in a press release.
The DSRB has been proposed by former NATO security advisers, senior ex-military personnel and bankers. Its aim is to found a triple-A rated institution capable of raising 100 billion pounds ($137 billion) to fund defence projects, particularly in countries that may struggle to access cheaper finance.
Reuters reported earlier this month that Britain would not back the initiative, in an early blow to the proposed project.
The DSRB held a meeting in London earlier this month attended by 35 countries from NATO nations, the EU and the Indo-Pacific region – including all G7 nations – to discuss the proposals. It has not yet said whether it has secured financial backing from any countries to support its launch.
($1 = 0.7320 pounds)
(Reporting by Tom Sims in Frankfurt and Virginia Furness and Iain Withers in London, Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
