BERLIN — German business and industry associations on Thursday urged the government to join the Canada-led Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), saying membership was needed to close financing gaps for companies in the defence sector and protect their access to future projects, Reuters reported on 29 October.

Source: Reuters

The joint statement was signed by groups including the German Security and Defence Industry Association (BDSV), aerospace association BDLI, the chamber of commerce DIHK, engineering association VDMA, savings banks group DSGV and the Startup Association.

“The geostrategic threat situation urgently requires new answers and approaches: financing for the defence sector must be secured sustainably over the long term,” said Elisabeth Hauschild, managing director of BDSV. The associations said the bank could offer guarantees for commercial loans to small and medium-sized companies, including startups, as well as long-term loans, venture capital and equity financing for capacity expansion, innovation and critical raw materials. “As a multilateral development bank, it provides the decisive risk buffer through guarantees and long-term financing instruments — particularly where established banks have so far been reluctant to support long-term contracts for the Mittelstand,” Hauschild said.

The proposed multilateral institution, backed by Canada, seven other NATO countries and Ukraine, would provide long-term, low-cost financing for defence, security and resilience projects and will be based in Canada, Reuters said. It has faced challenges securing support from larger European nations — Reuters was first to report in September last year that Britain had declined to join the project, a decision Awaaz Punjab reported earlier this month.

Berlin has not yet committed. A spokesperson for the German finance ministry told Reuters on Monday that Germany was an observer in the negotiations on the DSRB's charter and was reviewing open questions.