Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial organization that unites the main banks of different countries. It was created to regulate relations between banks and simplify international settlements between them. In addition, BIS conducts research in the field of monetary policy and the economies of developed countries.

Almost all European central banks are associated with the multilateral activities of the BIS . The Bank for International Settlements helps to place currency reserves intelligently and is a kind of forum for currency cooperation between countries. At the same time, BIS invests according to traditional schemes using standard financial instruments (deposits with commercial banks, short-term investments in securities and so on). Such operations are currently the core business of the bank, as well as market statistics.

If we consider BIS from a legal point of view, then it is a corporation founded in 1930 on the basis of the Hague Agreement. The bank’s activities are supervised by the Board of Directors, which includes the managers of the main banks of France, Belgium, Italy, Germany and the UK.

BMR activities

According to the approved charter, the Bank for International Settlements does not have the right to conduct real estate transactions, in addition, it is not allowed to provide loans to governments and open separate accounts for them. In the process of conducting banking operations, the BIS must necessarily take into account the monetary policy of the central client bank.

The responsibilities of the international financial institution also include overseeing international markets and creating a data bank for the central banks of ten countries - Canada, Belgium, Italy, France, Japan, Sweden, the USA, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.

BMR includes 56 central banks, including the Bank of the Russian Federation. The central office of the corporation is located in Switzerland (Basel). Despite the fact that some functions of the organization have been transferred to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today, the Bank for International Settlements continues to control mutual settlements between major banking institutions, issue loans and guarantees, accept deposits and act as a financial intermediary.

But at the same time, the main function of the BIS remains to coordinate the actions of the main banks of different countries on issues of monetary policy. First of all, this is the currency market.

Basel Committee

In 1974, the Basel Committee was established to standardize and improve the banking settlement system. It consists of representatives of major banks, which meet four times a year to develop standards for banking institutions. First of all, the Bank for International Settlements, managed by the Basel Committee, is known for its research and recommendations on the compliance of bank capital. It is worth noting that the recommendations of the committee are not binding, but they are mainly taken into account in the legislation of the participating countries.