Pending approval of the presidents of its member countries, the Banco del Sur, or Bank of the South, will be founded on Nov. 3 in Caracas, Venezuela.

The date was agreed to during a daylong meeting in Rio de Janeiro between the finance ministers of Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Ecuador.

The bank is the brainchild of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who has been promoting it as an alternative to the International Monetary Fund.

"We can now say that the bank of the South is about to become reality," Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega told reporters at the end of the meeting. "It will finance integration and will be open to all of South America's 12 countries."

"There is still important work to be concluded," Mantega said, adding that the countries involved have yet to decide how much each will contribute to the bank and details as to the financial structure of the institute.

He said the bank will be "the first multilateral lending institute controlled by its users.

"This is a historic moment for we have arrived at a consensus for the foundation of the Bank of the South," Venezuela Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas said.

"The bank is not against anything or anyone. It is in favor of the people of South America," Cabezas added. "This is not a bank of one country or of one president."

The bank will lend money for projects that fosters the region's development at interest rates similar to those charged by other multilateral institutions, Mantega said.

He said the finance ministers of each country will sit on the new bank's administrative council and that each country will have one vote.