Germany should join the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank proposed by its NATO allies Canada and Luxembourg, according to the German defence industry association.
Head of the industry association BDSV, Hans Christoph Atzpodien, warned that not joining the bank “would significantly reduce the sales opportunities for the German security and defence industry” in countries that are members. Funding of the bank will be restricted to goods and services from other member countries, which would block purchases with the bank’s funding from non-member countries.
The Defence, Security and Resilience Bank will likely be presented during the NATO summit in Ankara at the beginning of July.
The bank’s main headquarters will be in Canada, while Luxembourg will host the European headquarters, according to Mark Carney, Canada’s Prime Minister.
Originally pitched as a NATO bank, the DSR Bank would be able to offer loans to states and the defence industry, as well as provide security to commercial banks, financing the industry and its supply chains.
It is especially difficult for smaller companies looking to enter the defence sector and those lower down in the defence supply chain to gain loans from commercial banks. A top executive from the commercial banking sector recently told Euractiv that the financing needs further down the chain are clear.
A similar multinational financing project is envisioned by the UK, which will work closely with the Netherlands and Finland. Former Defence Secretary Hohn Healy reportedly pushed for the UK to join the Canadian vision instead. Carney has been lobbying other NATO allies for a defence bank for some time.
UK and partners push for multinational defence investment bank
The United Kingdom, together with the Netherlands and Finland, is looking to establish its own…
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