Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

The BIS was founded in 1930, originally to handle German reparation payments after the First World War, and is based in Basel, Switzerland. It is the world’s oldest international financial institution.

Its members are central banks from countries representing most of the world’s economy. The BIS provides banking services to central banks, such as managing their reserves; hosts meetings where central bank governors discuss policy and economic developments; carries out economic research and publishes statistics; and runs an Innovation Hub exploring areas such as central bank digital currencies and payment systems.

The BIS also hosts several international committees, most notably the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which develops the Basel standards for bank capital and liquidity, and the Financial Stability Board’s secretariat.

For example, the Basel III framework, developed by the Basel Committee after the 2008 financial crisis and hosted by the BIS, sets global standards for how much capital and liquidity banks must hold.

The BIS is often described as the central bank for central banks. It does not set rules directly; its committees’ standards must be implemented by national authorities.