Annual meeting of BIS and conferences
The annual meeting of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) was held in Basel, Switzerland, on 24 June. The Bank for International Settlements is a limited company 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 annual accounts, a discussion of the global economic situation, and a summary of topics relevant to central banks. This year’s report contains sections entitled Breaking the Vicious Cycles, The Limits of Monetary Policy, Restoring Fiscal Sustainability, and Post-Crisis Evolution of the Banking Sector, among others.
At the meeting, BIS General Manager Mr. Jaime Caruana gave a speech based on the report, entitled “It’s time to address the root causes.”
The Bank for International Settlements prepares its financial statements using special drawing rights (SDR). During the last accounting year, which ended 31 March 2012, the bank’s net profit totalled SDR 758.9 million. At the annual meeting, it was decided to pay dividends in the amount of SDR 305 per share. As the Central Bank of Iceland holds 1,000 shares in the bank, it will receive a dividend of 58.2 million krónur.
Central Bank of Iceland Governor Már Guðmundsson attended the annual meeting and a conference held by the Bank for International Settlements on the days preceding the annual meeting. During this same trip, he also attended a symposium at Danske Bank, where he gave a speech on monetary policy in Iceland before and after the financial crisis. On this occasion, he also participated in panel discussions on current monetary policy challenges. Other panellists were Nils Bernstein, Governor of Danmarks Nationalbank, and Tuomas Välimäki, head of market operations at the Bank of Finland. Lars Christensen, head of emerging market research at Danske Bank, steered the panel.
After the annual meeting, the Governor participated in a panel discussion about the financial crisis in Europe and the Israeli economy, at the Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society in Masada, Israel. Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel, led the panel, which included Bank of Finland Governor Erkki Liikanen as well as Már Guðmundsson, whose introductory remarks can be found on the Central Bank of Iceland website.
Further information can be obtained from Stefán Jóhann Stefánsson, Editor at the General Secretariat of the Central Bank of Iceland, at tel +354 569-9600.
No. 25/2012
29 June 2012
Links to materials related to this press release are below:
BIS's General Manager's speech
Már Guðmundsson: Monetary policy in Iceland. Symposium at Danske Bank (pdf)