The BRICS consortium plans to unveil a guarantee fund backed by the New Development Bank to lower financing costs and boost investment across its member states, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. The initiative, called the BRICS Multilateral Guarantee mechanism, is scheduled to be referenced in the bloc’s joint communiqué during next week’s leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro, where Brazil holds the rotating presidency. Modelled on the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the fund will use existing NDB resources and will not require fresh capital from member governments at this stage. Sources said the scheme has cleared technical review inside the bank and now awaits formal sign-off by BRICS finance ministers—a step viewed largely as procedural. While officials have not disclosed the fund’s initial size, they expect each dollar guaranteed by the NDB to unlock between five and ten dollars in private financing for pre-approved projects. Technical work to establish the mechanism is slated to finish by year-end, paving the way for pilot guarantees in 2026. The vehicle is intended to help BRICS members attract private money for infrastructure, climate adaptation and other development priorities, and to present a competitive alternative to multilateral lenders dominated by advanced economies.