Bank for International Settlements Annual General Meeting
Central Bank of Iceland Governor Már Guðmundsson attended the annual meeting of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland, on 23 June 2013.
The Bank for International Settlements is owned by 60 central banks. It is a forum for international collaboration among central banks, as well as a research institution and a bank serving central banks around the world. At the annual meeting, the bank’s annual report was presented, including the financial accounts, a discussion of the global economic situation, and a summary of topics relevant to central banks.
At the meeting, BIS General Manager Mr. Jaime Caruana gave a speech based on the annual report. The annual report and the General Manager’s speech emphasised the limitations on what central banks can and should do, and stressed that the time has come for other authorities to create the conditions for sustainable growth.
The late Sir Andrew Crockett, former BIS General Manager was commemorated at the meeting. Sir Andrew visited Iceland in June 2004 and gave a speech at a conference organised by the Central Bank in cooperation with SUERF. The first of the Andrew Crockett Memorial Lectures was held at the 2013 annual meeting. Raghuram Rajan, professor at the University of Chicago, gave the lecture, which focused on the unconventional monetary policy pursued in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Governor Már Guðmundsson attended an annual conference held by BIS prior to its annual meeting. This year’s conference focused on the role of monetary policy during the crisis and the recovery. The Governor also participated in discussions at a meeting of small countries with independent currencies.
The Bank for International Settlements prepares its financial statements using special drawing rights (SDR) as its functional currency. During the last accounting year, which ended 31 March 2013, the bank’s net profit totalled SDR 898.2 million, or about 168 billion Icelandic krónur. At the annual meeting, it was decided to pay dividends in the amount of SDR 315 per share. As the Central Bank of Iceland holds 1,000 shares in the bank, it will receive a dividend of roughly 58 million krónur.
Further information can be obtained from Már Guðmundsson, Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland, at tel: +354 569-9600.
Links:
Speech by BIS General Manager Jaime Caruana
Opening speech by Stephen Checchetti at the BIS conference