The concept for the Defence, Security, and Resilience Bank emerged after years of research within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and academia.
Last year, the multilateral Defence, Security, and Resilience Bank Development Group launched in order to address NATO’s recurring funding shortfalls, with the financial institution focused on providing financing for defence, security, and infrastructure projects for NATO members and allied nations.
“DSRB is being built as a practical, multilateral solution that complements the expertise and capabilities of partner banks,” explained COO Kevin Reed, “and helps ensure capital flows at the scale and speed required to support allied defence, security and resilience.”
In August, the Royal Bank of Canada became the first Canadian financial institution to join the group, which includes JP Morgan and ING.
This month, The National Bank of Canada, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, and Scotiabank all confirmed their roles as partners.
“As new opportunities emerge within the defence and security sectors, CIBC is proud to work alongside our clients and industry leaders to advance these efforts,” stated CIBC chief executive officer Harry Culham.
“Canada and its allies are making historic investments to help build a safer, more secure world,” stated Scotiabank CEO Scott Thomson.
Notably, the headquarters for this global defence bank has not yet been determined.
While Toronto’s Bay Street is Canada’s financial hub, British Columbia has thrown its hat into the ring.
British Columbia “offers the talent, stability, and innovation ecosystem needed to ensure the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank succeeds from Day 1,” according to Christina Zachauk, chief executive officer of the Research Universities’ Council of British Columbia. “B.C.’s research universities deliver a deep pipeline of skilled graduates and applied expertise in areas from cybersecurity to critical-infrastructure resilience.”
Ken Sim, mayor of Vancouver, thinks his city is the ideal spot for the Defence, Security, and Resilience Bank.
“Our city is in a strategic position unlike anywhere else in the country,” suggests Sim.
Vancouver is “the only city in Canada that can conduct business across the Indo-Pacific, Europe, and Arctic time zones within a single business day,” he notes, “a critical advantage in a rapidly shifting global environment.”
Vancouver also “already has the secure space needed for the DSRB and the robust consular corps and private sector needed to support its ongoing operation,” according to Sim.
“Put simply, Vancouver is the city with the readiness, strategic location, private-sector strength and secure, trusted access to world markets make the DSRB effective on day one,” remarked the mayor.
Darlene Rotchford, parliamentary secretary for armed forces development and veterans affairs, agrees.
“Vancouver offers the expertise, partnerships, and strategic location needed for an institution dedicated to military readiness and resilience,” Rotchford stated. “This bid reflects B.C.’s commitment to contributing meaningfully to national security and to the people who serve.”
Grant Damery, managing director of enterprise strategic clients for RBC, says that “Vancouver offers many attractive considerations including bringing together world-class talent, advanced technology and the Pacific gateway that strengthens Canada’s economic and national security.”
Vancouver “is built to connect Canada to the world, and that same global reach underpins Vancouver’s bid to host the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank,” according to YVR chief executive Tamara Vrooman.
The city, she said, “offers the connectivity, reliability, and readiness a global security institution needs to succeed.”
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