Bank For International SettlementsOne of the premiere international banking organizations, the Bank For International Settlements, is a body which works on the global level to foster the cooperation in the area of international monetary and financial sector. The history of the Bank Of International Settlements informs us that it was originally formed to make sure that treaty obligations of financial nature, hence the name. The Young Committee suggested the need of this organization 1929. The Bank is located in Basel, Switzerland. There are representative offices of the Bank in Hong Kong (SAR) and Mexico City. The primary role of this bank is that it serves as the bank for the central banks of various countries. There are four primary responsibilities of the Bank For International Settlements. All these responsibilities are so designed that the bank can play its role in optimal manner. The first task of the Bank For International Settlements is that it acts as the forum where different central banking institutions can come and discuss the issues related to international financial community. Similarly the bank also provides a platform where these banking institutions can can do policy analysis with each other. The second task of the Bank For International Settlements is to act as a center which enables economic and monetary research. While there are a number of organizations which are involved in and support international level economic research, the Bank For International Settlements is in a unique position to make this possible. Thanks to its internationally revered status and the extensive amount of data available, the Bank Of International Settlements, fits in the role perfectly. The third task of the Bank Of International Settlements is that it acts as a counterparty in case of different central banks dealing with each other. This is because of the extreme level of credibility that institution has built for itself over time. Today there are a number of cases when different central banks have to deal with each other on a daily basis in a direct or indirect manner, this banks plays a very important role . The fourth task of BIS is that it is supposed to act as a trustee or an agent in case of international financial operations. 55 central banks are the members of the organization. The Bank tries to ensure that the monetary policy of these member banks is transparent and predictable. This is done to make sure that in case of any financial crisis in a country, the rest of the countries involved in trade and commercial relations are able to assist them and thus are able to avoid domino fall effect. Today the Bank For International Settlements is also responsible to provide the 12 member secretariat of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. International Banking Services Privacy Policy Legal Disclaimer Contact |