Exclusive-Canada aims to announce 10 countries backing global defence bank at NATO summit

By Jonathan Spicer, Iain Withers and Marc Jones

ANKARA/LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) – Canada is aiming to announce around 10 founding nations for a global defence bank at next week’s NATO summit in Turkey, the lead Canadian negotiator told Reuters on Thursday.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is promoting the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) as part of his call this year for an alliance of “middle powers” to combat what he sees as the fracturing of the traditional U.S.-led world order.

“We gave ourselves the NATO summit as a deadline … What we are aiming to announce is the list of founding members,” Isabelle Hudon, Canada’s top negotiator in the launch of the multilateral initiative and CEO of the Business Development Bank of Canada, said in an interview.

The bank’s purpose is to bolster the defence of allied nations by raising up to £100 billion ($133 billion) in cheap finance.

Hudon said the initial roster of countries would likely all be European, besides Canada, but declined to name them. She cautioned the announcement was not guaranteed and depended on final negotiations with allies, including over their capital commitments, but said the project had momentum.

“My prime minister said we should not aim for perfection before launching this initiative, that we should rally the countries that are ready to be called founding members, and then the membership will stay open,” Hudon said.

The project’s fate remains uncertain without the backing of nations crucial to it securing a triple-A credit rating.

The DSRB has had productive talks with South Korea and there was a 50-50 chance of it joining, potentially later, Hudon said, adding that no other G7 nations were close to signing up for now. South Korea’s Finance Ministry has previously told Reuters it was reviewing the proposal. It could not be immediately reached outside normal office hours.

Canada’s Finance Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

POTENTIAL HURDLES

So far, Canada has been joined publicly only by Luxembourg, which will become the bank’s European base. Carney said on Friday, “a critical mass” of countries intended to join, without naming them.

“Ankara will be an important milestone to see whether there’s critical enough momentum to make this idea work,” said Linus Terhorst, an analyst at defence think tank Royal United Services Institute.

It faces potential hurdles in Europe, as it competes with defence initiatives such as the European Union’s SAFE programme.

The DSRB is asking anchor nations to pay in proportion to their economies’ size, Hudon said. “The capital is the most challenging part of the decision,” she added.

The proportional contributions could result in Canada contributing up to €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion), with smaller nations paying between €500 million and €750 million, a source familiar with the matter said.

IN THE MIX

Britain has resisted joining the DSRB — preferring to pursue its own defence financing project known as MDM with the Netherlands and Finland — but has explored possibilities to align or merge it with the DSRB, two sources said.

Carney told reporters on Friday he looked forward to discussing the bank with the incoming British prime minister. Former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is the favourite to replace Keir Starmer. Burnham was not immediately available for comment.

“We’re in constant conversation with London and London today means … different stakeholders,” said Hudon.

Germany has also previously distanced itself, but a Finance Ministry spokesperson said it had since joined DSRB talks as an observer and was reviewing the outcome.

G7 nation Italy, as well as Spain, Turkey, Belgium, and Ukraine, have analysed the proposals, multiple sources said. They declined to be named, discussing private information. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment on its participation, but sources have said it is interested.

The Netherlands said it was not participating, with a government spokesperson saying it was fully focused on its MDM initiative with the UK and Finland.

COMPETING INITIATIVES

A group of former NATO security advisers, senior ex-military personnel and bankers proposed the DSRB in 2024.

NATO nations and their allies are grappling with rising defence demands linked to the war in Ukraine, growing tensions with Russia, and concerns about China’s military expansion.  

NATO leaders agreed in June 2025 to spend 5% of GDP on defence and security-related investments by 2035.

Hudon said it was unlikely Canada would announce a host city for the DSRB next week, with five in contention — Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax and Vancouver.

Top banks, including JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and ING, have joined the project alongside Canada’s RBC, BMO, CIBC, National Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and TD Bank.

($1 = 0.7516 pounds) ($1 = 0.8773 euros)

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer in Ankara and Iain Withers and Marc Jones in London, Additional reporting by Caroline Stauffer, Andrew Gray, Promit Mukherjee, Maria Cheng, Maria Martinez, Elizabeth Piper, Giuseppe Fonte, Anthony Deutsch, Jihoon Lee, Jan Strupczewski, Jesus Aguado, Lili Bayer; Editing by Rod Nickel)