BRICS set to name Bank's leaders by month-end

London - The governments of the BRICS nations agreed to name representatives to their $50bn development bank by end-April, according to an official.

India will name the bank’s first president, with Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa selecting the vice presidents, according to the government official, who asked not to be named because he isn’t authorised to speak publicly about the matter.

Authorities from the nations met in Washington ahead of the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. They expect the bank to start operating in early 2016, the official said.

The New Development Bank will provide a financing alternative to the World Bank, where the five large emerging markets have sought more clout. Along with agreeing upon the structure of the bank last July, the nations decided to establish a $100bn currency exchange reserve.

BRICS nations will expand an average 5.33% in 2015, even as the Brazilian and Russian economies contract, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. India and China are forecast to grow 7.4% and 7%, respectively.