Member states are trying to use this structure to circumvent legal restrictions on military spending, Izvestia reports
A group of NATO countries is working to establish a new bank by 2027 to help finance military spending and prepare for a potential conflict with Russia, Izvestia reports, citing sources.
Western officials and the media have speculated that Russia could be in a position to attack NATO within a few years, with the bloc’s chief Mark Rutte calling the country a “enemy.” Moscow has rejected claims it plans to attack NATO nations “nonsense.”
Amid the dispute over Ukraine, European NATO members have embarked on a military build-up, with US President Donald Trump also pushing member states to take more responsibility for defense and increase spending to 5% of GDP.
Izevstia said the Defense, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) will be designed to help countries reach the 5% threshold by counting invested capital in the target and using private financing, loans and bond mechanisms. According to the letter and the DSRB website, the framework would make it possible to bypass some state budget limits and make the defense sector more attractive for private investment.
The paper’s sources said the bank’s backers aim to complete its charter in the first quarter of 2026, with an inaugural bond issue expected in the third or fourth quarter of 2026 and a full launch in 2027.
The report says the project will be run by British officials and aims to raise up to $135 billion in funding, with Ottawa and Toronto being considered as potential headquarters locations.
Another aspect of the framework is that it provides an incentive for centralized procurement of standardized weapons, the article says.
The framework is also supported by banks such as ING, JPMorgan, Commerzbank, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg and RBC Capital Markets.
Izvestia added that given what he called NATO leaders “aggressive” rhetoric, the structure would probably end “funding offense rather than defense.”
However, not all NATO members support the plan. In December, Germany’s finance ministry rejected the idea of creating new defense financing mechanisms, saying it wanted to focus on “on rapid implementation of existing tools”. France and several Eastern European nations prefer their own frameworks, according to Izvestia.
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