BRICS presidency: 2024 financial track results

Russia’s BRICS presidency has come to an end

Russia’s BRICS presidency has come to an end. One of the main areas of cooperation was the financial track during which the Bank of Russia coordinated central banks’ work.

The regulators paid special attention to new cross-border settlement mechanisms. A project was presented, which was aimed at creating a supranational platform using cashless funds, central banks’ digital currencies, and digital financial assets. The member states also examined possible options for the development of the BRICS settlement and depository infrastructure (BRICS Clear).

The issues of information security remain relevant for all the BRICS countries. The Bank of Russia held the first cross-border cyber drills that helped determine whether central banks are ready to respond to cross-border computer attacks. The BRICS Rapid Information Security Channel updated the E-Booklet regulatory reference document and published the third issue of best practices.

An important area of cooperation was the improvement of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) mechanism. In this regard, the central banks of the BRICS member states made progress in amending the documents governing it and conducted the seventh testing of the CRA mechanism. The amendment process is to be completed in 2025.

The regulators are interested in exchanging macroeconomic information on a permanent basis. In 2024, the fifth issue of the BRICS Economic Bulletin was released. It was dedicated to BRICS economies in a higher rate environment.

The countries outlined possible areas of cooperation in financing sustainable development. The central banks monitored the sustainability disclosure standards used in the BRICS countries and issued a joint report. Most countries intend to develop the sustainability disclosure regulation and aim to ensure that the applied standards are comparable.

As regards joint financial technology projects, the central banks of the BRICS member states examined the approaches to the development and regulation of artificial intelligence application in financial markets. An important result of the presidency was full-fledged integration of the central banks of new BRICS member states into all formats of cooperation. In 2025, the presidency will be taken over by Brazil.