Shares withdrawal

On 8 January 2001, an Extraordinary General Meeting of the BIS decided to restrict the right to hold shares in the BIS exclusively to central banks and approved the mandatory repurchase of all 72,648 BIS shares held by private shareholders as of that date against payment of CHF 16,000 per share. Copies of the Notes to Private Shareholders describing the transaction can be accessed via links under "Related information".

Pursuant to Article 54 of the BIS Statutes, disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Statutes, in particular between the Bank and its shareholders, must be referred for final decision to the Hague Arbitral Tribunal. In 2001, three former private shareholders challenged the shares withdrawal by initiating proceedings before the Tribunal.

The Tribunal proceedings consisted of two phases. The first phase in August 2002 resulted in a judgment by the Tribunal on 22 November 2002 on the lawfulness of the shares withdrawal and the valuation standard for the shares. A second phase to determine the exact amount of additional compensation took place in May 2003 and resulted in the Tribunal's final award published on 22 September 2003. Pursuant to this award, which the Bank applied to all former private shareholders registered on 8 January 2001 in final settlement of all claims, an additional amount of compensation of CHF 9,052.90 per share was paid. The Tribunal's decisions and further information relating to the arbitration can be found on the Permanent Court of Arbitration's website.