The BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) is a framework for the provision of support through liquidity and precautionary instruments in response to actual or potential short-term balance of payments pressures.
[1] It was established in 2015 by the BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The legal basis is formed by the Treaty for the Establishment of a BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, signed in Fortaleza, Brazil, on 15 July 2014.
The objective of this reserve is to provide protection against global liquidity pressures.
[2][4] The CRA is generally seen as a competitor to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and along with the New Development Bank is viewed as an example of increasing South-South cooperation.