UK in talks about joining global defence bank to fund NATO projects

The United Kingdom is actively exploring the possibility of joining the Defense, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), which is being established to finance defense projects in NATO countries.

According to Financial Times, the participation in the DSRB could help London achieve its goal of increasing defense spending to 3 percent of GDP.

The bank is reportedly planned to be headquartered in Montreal and could raise up to $134 billion to finance military projects.

The DSRB is a multilateral bank aimed at providing cheaper loans to fund defence projects. Albania, Belgium, Greece, Canada, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Türkiye and Ukraine have also expressed their intention to participate in the initiative.

Membership of the bank for the UK and other G7 countries would come with an upfront investment cost of around £870m spread over three years.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is also travelling to the UK for his first meeting with the prime minister.

The government has so far avoided committing to raising defence spending to 3% of national income by 2030, only repeating the longer term goal of 3.5% by 2035.