The Bank for International Settlements is an intergovernmental organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks." It is not accountable to any national government. The BIS carries out its work through subcommittees, the secretariats it hosts, and through its annual General Meeting of all members. It also provides banking services, but only to central banks, or to international organizations like itself. Based in Basel, Switzerland, the BIS was established by the Hague agreements of 1930. The name of the BIS... in German: Bank für Internationalen Zahlungsausgleich , in French: Banque des Règlements Internationaux , in Italian: Banca dei Regolamenti Internazionali . It has representative offices in Hong Kong and Mexico City. As an organization of central banks, the BIS seeks to make monetary policy more predictable and transparent among its 58 member central banks.
more