Canada and Eight Allies Launch Defence, Security and Resilience Bank

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the creation of the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) during the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey. Supported by Albania, Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Türkiye, and Ukraine, the Canada-headquartered institution aims to raise up to £100 billion ($134 billion) in low-cost financing to bolster the defense industrial base and replenish stockpiles following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The DSRB is scheduled to become operational in 2027, providing loans and guarantees for governments and small-to-medium enterprises. Romania joined as a founding member and will host a regional office for the southern flank in Bucharest. Parallel to the bank's launch, Carney and Zelenskyy announced a $900 million fund for short-, mid-, and long-term investments in Ukraine.

While Canada led the initiative, the United Kingdom initially refused to join, citing a lack of procurement and stockpiling provisions. Instead, the U.K. launched its own Multilateral Defence Mechanism (MDM) with £600 million and support from Poland, the Netherlands, and Finland. U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has since proposed merging the MDM and DSRB into a single institution to avoid overlap and achieve critical mass, with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown appointed to lead discussions between the two nations.