SANYA, Hainan - Financial institutions from the BRICS members should expand local currency settlement and lending to facilitate the countries' economic growth, China Development Bank (CDB) president Chen Yuan said Wednesday.

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As trade and investment among the BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - grew rapidly over the past years, greater use of local currency in trade settlement and more loans would be beneficial to all, Chen said at a forum preceding the BRICS Leaders Meeting scheduled on Thursday.

This will facilitate foreign trade and investment among the five countries and help promote a "diversified development of the global monetary system", he said.

Chen noted that within the framework of BRICS countries' inter-bank cooperation mechanism, further discussion could focus on ways and patterns of expanding local currency credits to build a more open and efficient financial service system.

He suggested the five countries to enhance cooperation in investment and financing in major sectors, including infrastructure and basic industries, strategic emerging industries as well as sectors of independent innovation.