BIS opens Representative Office for the Americas

Press release  | 
11 November 2002

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) yesterday opened its Representative Office for the Americas in Mexico City. The office will serve as a centre for the activities of the BIS in the Americas, aiming to:

  • strengthen further the relations between, and to promote cooperation among, the BIS and the central banks and monetary authorities in the region;
  • improve the exchange of information and data; and
  • facilitate the organisation of meetings and seminars.

Andrew Crockett, BIS General Manager, said, "We consider the BIS presence in Mexico to be one of the most effective ways of communicating and collaborating more closely with financial institutions in the region and especially Latin America." He added, "Monetary and financial stability are major concerns to be addressed in the region."

A reception to mark the opening was attended by Governors and representatives from around 50 central banks, including Guillermo Ortiz of the Bank of Mexico, Alan Greenspan of the US Federal Reserve and Wim Duisenberg of the European Central Bank, as well as Arminio Fraga of the Central Bank of Brazil and Aldo Pignanelli of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic. Earlier, a number of Governors in Mexico for the opening had been received at Los Pinos for a breakfast meeting with President Fox.

Gregor Heinrich, Chief Representative of the new office, will head a staff of four. This is the Bank's second representative office following the establishment in 1998 of the Representative Office for Asia and the Pacific in Hong Kong SAR.

Contact details for the BIS Representative Office for the Americas are as follows:

Location: Torre Chapultepec

Rubén Darío 281

Col. Bosque de Chapultepec

11580 México, D.F.

Mexico

Telephone: +52 55 91380290

Fax: +52 55 91380299