The Treaty for the Establishment of a BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement was signed in Fortaleza on 15 July 2014, in five originals in English, one for each Party. The Parties: Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa. Depositary: Brazil. Article 22: acceptance, ratification or approval; no unilateral reservations. Article 23: entry into force 30 days after deposit of the fifth instrument — 30 July 2015. It is not the Agreement on the New Development Bank, signed at the same sixth summit.

The preamble establishes a self-managed contingent reserve arrangement to forestall short-term balance of payments pressures, provide mutual support and further strengthen financial stability, complementary to the global financial safety net. Article 1: the framework provides support through liquidity and precautionary instruments. Article 4: the liquidity instrument responds to actual pressures; the precautionary instrument commits support in light of potential pressures — at framework level, without a swap handbook.

Article 2: initial committed resources are USD 100 billion — China 41, Brazil, Russia and India 18 each, South Africa 5. Commitments do not involve outright transfers of funds until an eligible request is acceded to. Article 5: access limits are multiples of each commitment (China 0.5; Brazil, Russia and India 1; South Africa 2); 30 percent is the portion de-linked from an IMF arrangement, 70 percent is IMF-linked — without a drawing calculator.

Article 3: a Governing Council of finance ministers or central-bank governors, deciding by consensus, holds high-level authority; a Standing Committee of central-bank officials takes executive decisions. The BRICS chair acts as coordinator. Article 6: the five central banks shall enter into an inter-central bank agreement for operational procedures. Article 17: the official language is English. Article 19: the CRA does not possess independent international legal personality.

Article 20: disputes on interpretation shall be solved by consultations in the Council; failing that, UNCITRAL arbitration in English, three arbitrators. Article 21: withdrawal is not allowed for five years from entry into force, then on six months’ notice. Cover: Centro de Eventos do Ceará in Fortaleza, the summit venue; we do not claim the hall. Wikimedia Commons, free licence.

Sources consulted: BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement; Treaty for the Establishment of a BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement.