[1][2] According to the Agreement on the NDB, "the Bank shall support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments."

Moreover, the NDB "shall cooperate with international organizations and other financial entities, and provide technical assistance for projects to be supported by the Bank.

The initial subscribed capital of the bank was equally distributed among the founding members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa).

[19][20] In April 2020, the New Development Bank established an Emergency Assistance Facility that sought to finance costs related to the fight against the Coronavirus and soften the blow from the economic impact.

[29] Following Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva election, the Brazilian government solicited his renouncement, after then he was replaced by Dilma Rousseff by 24 March 2023.

The payment of the amount initially subscribed by each founding member to the paid-in capital stock of the bank will be made in dollars in 7 installments.

[31] The bank aims to contribute to the development plans established nationally through projects that are socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.

Taking this into account, the main objectives of the NDB can be summarized as follows The Agreement on the New Development Bank entered into force in July 2015, with the official declaration of all five states that have signed it.

In 2016, some experts considered that expanding the NDB's membership to be crucial to its long-term development by helping boost the bank's business growth.

[33] According to the Bank's General Strategy: 2017–2021, the NDB plans to expand membership gradually so as not to overly strain its operational and decision-making capacity.

[42] The NDB has expressed interest in funding projects that conform to high environmental standards, including those in the field of infrastructure, such as energy, railways and highways in the future.

[43] At the same time, according to K. V. Kamath, the NDB President, one of the key strategies of the bank will be financing profitable projects (bankable) with return on capital.

[44] The NDB wants "to fund projects that are creative and bring benefits to the local people and environment", said Vice President Zhu Xian.

In May 2024, BRICS Development Bank announces to allocate US$1.115 bi to Rio Grande do Sul for rebuilding the urban and rural infrastructure after the 2024 floods.

[51][52] The Articles of Agreement of the bank say that the NDB was established to complement the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development.

[53] In July 2016, the NDB signed with Asian Development Bank (ADB) a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation.

[56] According to media reports, other multilateral development institutions, including the World Bank Group (WBG), have expressed an intention to work together with the NDB.

[58] In July 2014, Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said the NDB marks a "fundamental change in global economic and political power."

"[59] In the analysis of academic Suisheng Zhao, China's role in the creation of the NBD is "a symbolic gesture to create a sort of IMF clone writ small toward reshaping the Western-dominated international financial architecture.

"[60] Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called the opening of the NDB an "important step forward" in cooperation among BRICS countries.

[61] China Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said that the establishment of the NDB and the Beijing-led AIIB would encourage existing multilateral institutions to do better.

[63] The logo of the New Development Bank borrows from the mathematical concept of a Mobius strip that symbolizes the idea of continuous transformation.

This constant motion symbolizes the values that the bank strives to live by – agility, innovation and continuous transformation.