1980-1989

The BIS Chronology chronicles the main events relevant to the history of the Bank for International Settlements since it was created in 1929-30. Major financial, monetary and world events that are not directly related to the BIS, but that have had an impact on it, are listed in italics.

 

1980
21 Jan		Gold prices peak at $850 per ounce, a rise of 340% since November 1978
Apr		G10 governors entrust Euro-Currency Standing Committee (ECSC) with regular and systematic monitoring of international banking developments
17 Apr		The People's Republic of China replaces Taiwan at IMF and at the World Bank
1981
1 Jan		Greece joins the EC
1 Mar		Günther Schleiminger succeeds René Larre as BIS General Manager
23 Mar		EMS realignment: Italian lira devalued by 6%
Oct		First meeting at the BIS of the Group of Payment System Experts
5 Oct		EMS realignment: Dutch guilder and Deutsche mark revalued by 3% and 5.5% vis-à-vis other currencies
Nov		Hungary and Poland apply for IMF membership
1982
Jan		Fritz Leutwiler appointed President of the BIS
22 Feb		EMS realignment: devaluations of the Belgian franc (8.5%) and Danish crown (3%)
Mar		Hungarian debt crisis: BIS provides emergency credit of $100 million to the National Bank of Hungary, followed by further BIS central bank assistance of $110 million in May and $300 million in September
14 Jun		EMS realignment: revaluation of German mark and Dutch guilder (4.25%); devaluation of French franc (5.75%) and Italian lira (2.75%)
12 Aug		Mexican debt crisis: Mexican Finance minister Jesús Silva Herzog informs IMF and US that Mexico's reserves are exhausted
18 Aug		Negotiation (IMF-Fed-BIS) of a standby credit of $1.85 billion to Mexico, taking effect on 30 August; BIS provides half of the standby
31 Aug		Mexico imposes exchange controls and nationalises its banking system; IMF subsequently organises banking consortium loan of $8.3 billion for 1983, conditional on structural reforms
6-9 Sep		IMF and World Bank meeting in Toronto to address developing countries debt crisis
8 Oct		Swedish crown devalued by 16%
16 Nov		Bankers meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to address the Mexican and Argentinean foreign debt problems
20 Nov		Brazil requests a bankers meeting to address its debt difficulties
Dec		BIS grants a $1.2 billion (increased later to $1.45 billion) bridging loan to the Central Bank of Brazil
1983
Jan		BIS provides a $500 million credit facility to Argentina
10 Jan		Greek drachma devalued by 15.5%
Mar		BIS provides $500 million assistance to the National Bank of Yugoslavia
21 Mar		EMS realignment: revaluations of the Deutsche mark (5.5%), Dutch guilder (3.5%), Danish crown (2.5%), and Belgian franc (1.5%); devaluations of the French (2.5%), Irish (3.5%), and Italian (2.5%) currencies
Apr		Creation of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
May		Basel Committee on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices publishes "Principles for the supervision of banks' foreign establishment", updating the 1975 "Basel Concordat"
Jul		The BIS locational banking statistics (see December 1973) are complemented with worldwide bank lending statistics on a consolidated basis (bank claims with maturity and sectoral breakdown); from 1998 published as "BIS Consolidated Banking Statistics", these currently (2009) cover 30 jurisdictions, making up over 90% of international banking business
30 Nov		IMF quotas increased by SDR 29.2 billion, needed to meet the debt crisis
1984
1 Jan		Creation of free-trade area between EC and EFTA
30 Apr		BIS and 17 central banks arrange a joint twelve-month facility of SDR 2 505 million for drawings by IMF
May		Continental Illinois Bank collapses
1985
Jan		Jean Godeaux appointed President of the BIS
7 Jan		Jacques Delors appointed President of the European Commission
12 Mar		Committee of EC Governors agrees on improving conditions of using and holding ECU
14-15 Apr		EC Council of Ministers approves Committee of Governors agreement to pay market-level interest on ECU holdings
1 May		Alexandre Lamfalussy succeeds Günther Schleiminger as BIS General Manager; Horst Bockelmann takes up position as Economic Adviser
14 Jun		European Commission publishes the "White Paper on the Completion of the Internal Market"
1 Jul		Greece joins the EMS
22 Jul		EMS realignment: devaluation of the Italian lira (6%) and revaluation of the other currencies (2%)
22 Sep		G5 Plaza Agreement for concerted intervention to drive down the dollar
1986
1 Jan		Portugal and Spain join the EC
21 Mar		Signature of an agreement between BIS and the ECU Banking Association (EBA), establishing the BIS as Agent of the private clearing and settlement system
Apr		Publication of the report "Recent Innovations in International Banking", by the Euro-Currency Standing Committee ("Cross Report")
7 Apr		EMS realignment: revaluation of the Dutch guilder and Deutsche mark (3%), as well as the Belgian franc and Danish crown (1%), and devaluation of the French franc (3%)
Jun		Mexican foreign debt default averted
Aug		The BIS takes up a $400 million share in an $1 100 million facility for the Bank of Mexico
4 Aug		EMS realignment: 8% devaluation of the Irish punt
Oct		BIS participates with $176 million in a $250 million facility for the Central Bank of Nigeria
1987
12 Jan		EMS realignment: revaluation of Dutch guilder and Deutsche mark (by 3% each), and of the Belgian franc (by 2%)
16 Jan		Michel Camdessus takes office as Managing Director of the IMF
10 Feb		Conclusion of BIS Headquarters Agreement with Swiss Federal Council; creation of the BIS Administrative Tribunal
22 Feb		Louvre Accord: G6 finance ministers and central bank governors agree to stabilise and maintain exchange rates around their current levels
Mar		BIS provides $275 million in a $500 million bridging facility to the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic
13 May		Spain joins the EMS
1 Jul		Single European Act enters into force
11 Aug		Alan Greenspan succeeds Paul Volcker as Chairman of the Fed's Board of Governors
12 Sep		Basel-Nyborg agreement on a comprehensive strategy and measures to strengthen the EMS
19 Oct		Black Monday: stocks drop by 22.6% on Wall Street
30 Oct		BIS provides $250 million in a second $500 million bridging facility to the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic
Nov-Dec		Bundesbank and other central banks ease their monetary policy in the wake of the stock market collapse
10 Nov		Portugal joins the EMS
Dec		BCBS releases the document "Proposals for International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards"
1988
Jan		Wim F Duisenberg elected President of the BIS
Jun		BIS provides $200 million in a $250 million bridging facility for Yugoslavia
24 Jun		European Commission approves directive providing for full liberalisation of capital movements on 1 July 1990
27-28 Jun		European Council sets up a Committee for the Study of Economic and Monetary Union ("Delors Committee") to examine steps leading to EMU. Committee meets in Basel
Jul		Central bank governors endorse BCBS's document "International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards", or "Basel Capital Accord", to be implemented by the end of 1992
Jul		BIS provides $250 million in a $500 million bridging facility to the Central Bank of Brazil
Oct		BIS provides $190.5 million in a $500 million bridging facility to the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic
1989
Feb		BIS Group of Experts on Payment Systems releases the "Report on Netting Schemes"
Apr		BIS conducts, with central banks, the first global survey of foreign exchange market activity
12 Apr		Presentation of the "Delors Report" on achieving EMU, outlining three stages and convergence criteria
19 Jun		Spain joins the ERM
Aug		BIS participation of $700 million in a $2 billion short-term credit support for the Bank of Mexico
Sep		Basel Committee on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices changes its name into Basel committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS)
Dec		BIS participation of $300 million in a $500 million credit facility to the National Bank of Poland
8 Dec		EC Council decision to set up the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

1970-1979

1990-1999