Saturday, June 29, 2013

A Forum for Central Bankers--Taking Stock of the World's Oldest IFI

Péter Ákos Bod, Professor at Corvinus University in Budapest, discusses a new book on The Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Set up in May 1930, the BIS is the world's oldest international financial organisation, and brings together central bankers from around the world.

Bod writes in the latest F&D magazine that "the BIS is an international institution that has had to assume new roles under drastically changing global conditions. 

"Collecting banking data, conducting high-quality research, and providing prudential advice are its vital contribution to the proper functioning of modern finance. 

"The common European currency and the foundation of the European Central Bank presented the BIS with new challenges, as does the growing importance of the so-called BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and other emerging economies, whose central banks want to be heard and taken into account. The BIS will continue and prosper if it keeps reacting as innovatively and efficiently to the objective demands of international high finance as it has throughout its existence.­"