International bank

Bank for International Settlements (BIS) An international bank based in Basel, founded in 1930 to coordinate payments of reparations after the First World War. Its possible role as the top international bank was taken over after 1945 by the International Monetary Fund. The BIS has acted as trustee for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Monetary Agreement and as a clearinghouse for European Currency Units [Black, Hashimzade, Myles, p. 30]. An international bank that fosters cooperation among central banks and other agencies in pursuit of monetary and financial stability. The BIS was originally established in 1930 as a financial institution to coordinate the payment of war reparations between European central banks. It was hoped that the BIS, with headquarters in Basle, would develop into a European central bank, but many of its functions were taken over by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after World War II [Law, p. 34]. Short-term financial management of multi-currency and cross-border transactions. This may involve cross-border account management, netting, pooling arrangements, and balance concentration [Moles, Terry, p. 40]. A specialized agency established by the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 to help finance post-war reconstruction and to help raise standards of living in developing countries by making loans to governments or guaranteeing outside loans. It lends broadly commercial terms for specific projects or for more general social purposes; funds are raised on the international capital markets [Law, p. 32]. Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), A large international bank that operated in many countries, whose collapse in 1991 with a multi-billion pound shortage of funds provoked widespread suspicion of false bookkeeping and money laundering and widespread concern about the adequacy of supervision arrangements for international banks [Black, Hashimzade, Myles, p. 31].

Sources:

Moles, P., Terry, N. (1997). The Handbook of International Financial Terms. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Black, J., Hashimzade, N., Myles, G. (2017). A Dictionary of Economics (5 ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Law, J. (2018). A Dictionary of Finance and Banking (6 ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.