Canada is working toward announcing a group of about 10 founding nations for a new global defence financing vehicle at next week’s NATO summit in Turkey, a lead Canadian negotiator told Reuters.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has promoted the proposed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) as part of an effort to build a coalition of “middle powers” to respond to what he describes as the weakening of the traditional, U.S.-led world order. The bank’s stated goal is to help bolster allied defence by raising as much as £100 billion (about $133 billion) in “cheap finance.”

Isabelle Hudon, Canada’s top negotiator for the initiative and CEO of the Business Development Bank of Canada, said the government has set the NATO summit as a deadline to announce the roster of founding members. She indicated the initial group would likely be European countries in addition to Canada, but she declined to name them. Hudon stressed that the announcement was not guaranteed and would depend on final negotiations with allies, including agreements on capital contributions.

The project’s progress is also tied to securing a triple-A credit rating, which could require participation from nations that are crucial to meeting that threshold. Hudon said the DSRB has had productive talks with South Korea and that South Korea had about a 50-50 chance of joining, potentially later; she said no other G7 nations were close to committing. South Korea’s finance ministry previously said it was reviewing the proposal.

So far, Canada has been publicly joined only by Luxembourg, which is set to serve as the bank’s European base. Carney has said a “critical mass” of countries intended to join was the aim, but without naming them in advance.

Reuters reported that the DSRB is asking “anchor” nations to contribute capital in proportion to their economies’ size. A source familiar with the matter said Canada’s proportional contribution could be as high as €1.5 billion, while smaller nations could pay between €500 million and €750 million.

The initiative may also face competition or overlap concerns within Europe, including other defence-financing efforts such as the EU’s SAFE programme. The reporting also notes that Britain has so far resisted joining the DSRB, preferring instead a separate defence-financing project it is pursuing with the Netherlands and Finland, while exploring possible alignment.

Finally, Hudon said it was unlikely Canada would announce a host city for the DSRB at the NATO summit, with several Canadian cities in contention. The proposal has also attracted major banks and financial institutions, including international banks such as JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, alongside Canadian banks including RBC, BMO, CIBC, National Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and TD Bank.