BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS (BIS)HEADQUARTERS
Centralbahnplatz 2 Postal Add: CH-4002 Basel
Basel Telephone: [41](61)280-8080
Switzerland Facsimile: [41](61)280-9100
[41](61)280-8100
Telex: 962487 biz ch.
E-Mail: email@bis.org
Internet: www.bis.org
Representaive Office for Asia and the Pacific:
78th Floor Telephone: [852]2878-7100
Two International Finance Center Facsimile: [852]2878-7123
8 Finance Street, Central
Hong Kong SAR
People's Republic of China
Representative Office for the Americas:
Torre Chapultepec Telephone: [52 55]9138-0290
Rubén Dario 281 - 17th floor Facsimile: [52 55]9138-0299
Col. Bosque de Chapultepec
Del. Miguel Hidalgo
11580 México, D.F.
Mexico
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chairman of the Board and
President of the Bank: ... Nout H.E.M. WELLINK (Amsterdam)
Vice-Chairman of the Board: ... Hans TIETMEYER (Frankfurt am Main)
Directors: ... Vincenzo DESARIO (Rome)
... David DODGE (Ottawa)
... Antonio FAZIO (Rome)
... Toshihiko FUKUI (Tokyo)
... Timothy F. GEITHNER (New York)
... Sir Edward A.J. GEORGE (London)
... Alan GREENSPAN (Washington, DC)
... Hervé HANNOUN (Paris)
... Lars HEIKENSTEN (Stockholm)
... Mervyn KING (London)
... Christian NOYER (Paris)
... Guy Quaden (Brussels)
... Jean-Pierre ROTH (Zurich)
... Alfons VERPLAETSE (Brussels)
... Ernst WELTEKE (Frankfurt am Main)
Alternates: ... Marc-Olivier STRAUSS-KAHN or
Michel CARDONA (Paris)
... Paul TUCKER or
Paul FISHER (London)
... Peter PRAET or
Jan SMETS (Brussels)
... Roger W. FERGUSON or
Karen H. JOHNSON (Washington, DC)
... Bruno BIANCHI or
Vincenzo PONTOLILLO (Rome)
... Jürgen STARK or
Stefan SCHOENBERG (Frankfurt am Main)
SENIOR BANK OFFICIALS
General Manager: ... Malcolm KNIGHT
Deputy General Manager: ... André ICARD
Secretary General, Head of Dept.: ... Gunter D. BAER
Economic Adviser, Head of the
Monetary and Economic Dept: ... William R. WHITE
Head of the Banking Department: ... Robert D. SLEEPER
General Counsel, Manager: ... Mario GIOVANOLI
Deputy Head of the
Banking Department: ... Günter PLEINES
Deputy Secretary General ... Peter DITTUS
Chairman, Financial Stability
Institute ... Josef TOŠOVSKÝ
GENERAL MANAGER'S OFFICE
General Manager: ... Malcolm KNIGHT
Deputy General Manager: ... André ICARD
Adviser, General Manager's Office: ... Jozef Van't dack
MONETARY AND ECONOMIC DEPARTMENT
Economic Adviser, Head of the
Monetary and Economic Dept: ... William R. WHITE
Senior Adviser to Head of Department: Joseph BISIGNANO
SECRETARIAT OF THE BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION
Secretary General: ... Ryozo HIMINO
Deputy Secretary General: ... Karl CORDEWENER
Deputy Secretary General: ... Charles A. FREELAND
SECRETARIAT GROUP (SG)
Head: ... Philip P. TURNER
Committee on the Global
Financial System (CGFS): ... Allen FRANKEL
Committee on Payment
and Settlement Systems (CPSS): ... Marc HOLLANDERS
Macroeconomic Monitoring (MM): ... Palle S. ANDERSEN
Emerging Market Issues (EMI): ... Ramon MORENO
International Liaison (IL): ... Gavin BINGHAM
RESEARCH AND POLICY ANALYSIS (RPA)
Head: ... Claudio BORIO
Financial Markets (FM): ... Eli REMOLONA
Financial Institutions
and Infrastructure (FII): ... Kostas TSATSORONIS
Monetary Policy
and Exchange Rates (MPER): ... Gabriele GALATI
Dept. Research Assistance (DRA): ... Marc KLAU
INFORMATION, STATISTICS AND ADMINISTRATION (ISA)
Head: ... Paul VAN DEN BERGH
Adviser: ... Stuart FEDER
Data Bank Services: ... Ms. Gabriele BECKER
International Financial
Statistics (IFS): ... Rainer-Michael WIDERA
Information and Publication
Services (IPS): ... Kaushik JAYARAM
BANKING DEPARTMENT
Head: ... Robert D. SLEEPER
Deputy Head: ... Günter PLEINES
TREASURY
Head: ... Jean-François RIGAUDY
Head, Central Bank Services: ... John R. LOWEN
Deputy Head, Central
Bank Services: ... François-Marie BRUÈRE
Head, Money Markets and Credits: ... Markus JENNI
Head, Medium-Term Operations: ... Luis BENGOECHEA
Head, Foreign Exchange
and Gold Markets: ... Benoît GILSON
Head, Regional Treasury (Hong Kong)... Jean-Pierre MATT
ASSET MANAGEMENT
Head: ... Guy HENRIQUES
Head, Marketing and Client
Relationships: ... Pierre CARDON DE LICHTBUER
BANKING SETTLEMENTS CENTRE AND BANKING IT
Head: ... Jeremy M. BARSON
Deputy Head: ... Bernard TSCHUPP
Head, Trade Processing: ... Laurent NIAUFRE
Principal Business Analyst: ... Simon MAY
RISK CONTROL AND INTERNAL AUDIT
Head: ... André ICARD
RISK CONTROL
Head: ... Jens ULRICH
Deputy Head and Head of
Credit Analysis: ... Mrs. Monica ELLIS
Head, Market Risk: ... Hervé CARON
Head, Risk Methodology: ... Wolfgang GEHLEN
INTERNAL AUDIT
Head: ... Thomas WINSNES
GENERAL SECRETARIAT
Secretary General: ... Gunter D. BAER
Deputy Secretary General: ... Peter DITTUS
BUILDING, SECURITY AND LOGISTICS
Head: ... Christian RIME
Head of Engineering: ... Wolfgang SICK
Head of Security and Surveillance: ... Charles STROHL
Head of Procurement Services
and Administration: ... Siegfried KAUFMANN
Head of Internal Services: ... Giovanni GELMI
EXTERNAL SERVICES
Secretary to the Board
and Head of External Services: ... Hermann B. GREVE
Head of Meetings and Protocol: ... Ms. Beate DIEMER
INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION SERVICES
Head: ... Alan W. MORTBY
Head of Language Services ... Ms. Ruth SCHEITHAUER
Head of Press & Communications: ... Ms. Anita BRELAND
Head of Library, Archives
and Research Support: ... Piet CLEMENT
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
Head: ... Gill KIRKWOOD
Deputy Head: ... Wilhelm FRITZ
HUMAN RESOURCES
Head: ... Mrs. Sheila GRAY
Deputy Head: ... Hans C. WEENINK
FINANCE SECTION
Head of Finance, Chief Accountant: ... Frederick G. B. ADELMANN
Principal Budget Controller: ... Mrs. Angelika NAGEL
LEGAL SERVICE
General Counsel, Manager: ... Mario GIOVANOLI
Deputy General Counsel: ... Daniel LEFORT
FINANCIAL STABILITY INSTITUTE
Chairman: ... Josef TOŠOVSKÝ
Director: ... Ms. Elizabeth ROBERTS
OTHER SECRETARIATS LOCATED AT THE BANK OF INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS
Financial Stability Forum
Chairman: ... Roger W. FERGUSON, Jr.
Secretary General: ... Svein ANDRESEN
International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS)
Secretary General: ... Yoshihiro KAWAI
Deputy Secretary General: ... Catherine LEZON
International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI)
Secretary General: ... John Raymond LABROSSE
Chief Representative,
BIS Asian Office: ... Shinichi YOSHIKUNI
Deputy Chief Representative,
BIS Asian Office: ... Robert Neil MCCAULEY
Chief Representative,
Office for the Americas ... Gregor HEINRICH
Deputy Chief Representative,
Office for the Americas ... Angus BUTLER
LANGUAGES: English, French, German, ItalianESTABLISHMENTThe Bank for International Settlements (BIS) commenced its activities in Basel on 17 May 1930 and is thus the world's oldest international financial organisation and meeting place. The need to create an international organisation such as the BIS had been perceived from the beginning of the century. However, it was not until the adoption of the Young Plan under the Hague Agreements of 20 January 1930, whose main purpose was to facilitate German reparations after World War I, that the necessary steps were taken. The intergovernmental agreements concluded at the Hague Conference in January 1930 provided for the founding of the BIS by a group of six central banks and a financial institution of the USA and for the granting of a Constituent Charter to the BIS by Switzerland, the country in which the BIS was to be established.
FUNCTIONThe BIS is an international organisation which fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks. The BIS fulfils this mandate by acting as:
Governors and officials of shareholding central banks meet regularly at the offices of the BIS in Basel and, on occasion, at the Representative Office in Hong Kong SAR. Often they are joined by representatives of other central banks. The BIS offers a range of banking services specifically designed to assist central banks in the management of their foreign exchange and gold reserves. It also acts as a banker to, and manages funds for, international financial institutions. The BIS does not accept deposits from, or provide financial services to, private individuals or corporate entities, nor is it permitted to make advances to governments or open current accounts in their name. At present, around 130 central banks and international financial institutions place deposits with the BIS. The total of currency deposits placed with the BIS amounted to SDR 122.5 billion at the end of March 2003, representing around 6.5% of world foreign exchange reserves. The BIS's Monetary and Economic Department conducts research, particularly into monetary and financial questions, to support the activities of groups meeting at the BIS. It also maintains a macroeconomic database to which contributing central banks have access. The Department's research focuses on issues of direct interest to central banks, and is thus of an applied nature. Much of the Department's work is published in the BIS Papers series, or as BIS Working Papers, as well as in academic journals and conference volumes of central banks. The work undertaken also serves, directly or indirectly, as an important input to the wide-ranging reviews of international economic and financial developments contained in the BIS's Annual Report and Quarterly Review. Since its foundation the BIS has performed various functions as trustee, fiscal agent or depository with regard to a number of international loan agreements. In accordance with two Collateral Pledge Agreements, the BIS acts in the capacity of collateral agent to hold and invest collateral for the benefit of the holders of certain US dollar-denominated bonds issued by Brazil under the rescheduling arrangements and maturing in either 15 or 30 years. The BIS has undertaken similar functions for Peru since March 1997 and Côte d'Ivoire since March 1998 in connection with the external debt rescheduling arrangements agreed in November 1996 and May 1997 respectively. COMPOSITIONForty- nine institutions have rights of voting and representation at General Meetings. These are the central banks or monetary authorities of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Republic of Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the European Central Bank. STRUCTUREThe BIS has two statutory organs: the General Meeting and the Board of Directors. The General Meeting is held annually, within four months of 31 March, the end of the BIS's financial year. The Board of Directors, currently chaired by Nout Wellink, President of the Netherlands Bank, has 17 members. It comprises the Governors of the central banks of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System. Each ex officio member appoints another member of the same nationality. The Statutes also provide for the election to the Board of not more than nine Governors of other member central banks. The Governors of the central banks of Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland are currently elected members of the Board. The Board of Directors elects a Chairman from among its members and appoints the President of the BIS for a three-year term. Since 1948 the two offices have been vested in one person. The Board of Directors appoints the General Manager, the Deputy General Manager and the three Heads of Department. The staff of the BIS (including temporary staff) numbers 526 and is drawn from 44 countries. GENERAL PUBLICATIONAnnual Report UPDATED: December 29, 2003
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