New Delhi, Oct. 12 -- In 2012, finance ministry officials of Brics members met in Rio de Janeiro. They were tasked with exploring the prospect of establishing an all-South (or Brics) bank. It was formally set up in 2015. Looking back, most of the fundamental issues confronting the New Development Bank (NDB or 'Brics Bank') today were already visible in 2012.

The rationale seemed compelling. Multilateral development banks (MDBs) were undercapitalized. Their major shareholders were facing fiscal pressures following the global financial crisis. Emerging and developing economies needed large infrastructure investments. Poorer countries needed more concessional soft loan financing on the lines of the World Bank's International Development Ass...