The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) was established on May 17th 1930. The BIS is a result of an intergovernmental agreement by Germany, Belgium, France, the UK, Italy, Japan, the United States and Switzerland. The BIS is composed of 60 central banks, which represents nations from around the globe that together make up around 95% of the world’s GDP. When the BIS was established it was responsible for the collection, administration and distribution of reparations from Germany, like it was agreed in the Treaty of Versailles. Between the 1970s and 80s, the BIS was also responsible for monitoring cross border capital flows as a result of the oil and debt crisis.
One of the BIS’s purposes was to be some sort of emergency funder to nations that couldn’t provide for themselves anymore or were in some sort of financial trouble. Its mission is to help central banks become more stable, to act as banks for those 60 central banks, and to also foster international cooperation in monetary and financial stability. The BIS has also served as a trustee and agent for the European monetary System back when Europe was trying to have a single currency. The BIS has had many purposes throughout its existence, but its main focus has always been to maintain global financial stability.
The BIS has had some major accomplishments. One of which is when it came to rescue Mexico in 1982 and Brazil in 1998 in their debt crisis. The BIS has helped many countries in time of need. They also helped complete the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was a plan devoted to aid Western Europe after all the destruction caused by World War II. The BIS was able to facilitate the payments for this plan, which resulted in its fast completion in 1951.
Another great accomplishment by the BIS is the implementation of the Bretton Woods system in the western world. The Bretton Woods System was responsible for the formation of the International Monetary Fun (IMF), the International Bank for Reconstruction and the foreign exchange system. The system was supposed to be self-adjusting and coordinated by the International Monetary Fund. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case. International teamwork was needed in order for the Bretton Woods system to run smoothly. That’s where the BIS came in. They played an important part in making things run smoothly because they had good relations with the Group of Ten - a group of industrialized nations that meet on an annual basis to discus on international financial matters. By having a good relationship with the Group of Ten, the BIS was able to make sure the Bretton Woods System ran as smooth as possible.
One of the bank’s most notable accomplishments was being an agent for the European Monetary Cooperation. The BIS provided necessary funding and technical support to the European Monetary Cooperation Fund and the European Monetary System. By becoming an agent for the EMC, the BIS played an important role and laid a technical foundation for the European’s council’s decision to approve the Treaty of Maastricht, which was the shift towards a full European monetary union, known as European Union.