SHANGHAI, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) announced on Wednesday that it priced a 2 billion U.S. dollar, five-year COVID Response Bond in the international capital markets, following its inaugural issuance in June.

It is the bank's largest-ever U.S. dollar benchmark bond to date, according to the bank, noting that the net proceeds of the bond issuance will finance sustainable development activities in the bank's member countries, including COVID-related emergency assistance programs.

The NDB is planning to provide up to 10 billion dollars in crisis-related assistance, including financing healthcare and social safety-related expenditures, as well as supporting economic recovery efforts. The NDB has approved 4 billion dollars of COVID-19 related emergency assistance projects to date.

Headquartered in Shanghai, the NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The bank formally opened in July 2015.