Hervé Hannoun appointed as BIS Deputy General Manager

The Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) today announced the appointment of Hervé Hannoun as Deputy General Manager for a five-year term.

Mr Hannoun’s appointment, which takes effect on 1 January 2006, fills the vacancy being created by the retirement at the end of December of André Icard, who has served as Deputy General Manager since 1996. A subcommittee chaired by Nout Wellink recommended Mr Hannoun’s selection to the full Board.

Mr Hannoun has been First Deputy Governor of the Bank of France since 2000 and a member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Council since 1994. Prior to joining the Bank of France as Second Deputy Governor in 1992, he served in various capacities in the French Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, and in the offices of the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic of France.

He has been a member of the BIS Board of Directors since 1994. In 1998 Mr Hannoun was named to chair the International Relations Committee of the European System of Central Banks. Since 1999 he has been a member of the Financial Stability Forum.

Mr Hannoun is a graduate of the Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris and the École Nationale d’Administration.

BIS General Manager Malcolm Knight expressed deep gratitude to Mr Icard for his years of service to the Bank. He noted that Mr Icard has been a driving force during a decade of immense positive change for the BIS and that his wisdom and knowledge will be greatly missed.

Mr Knight warmly welcomed the appointment of Mr Hannoun, adding that his new deputy “brings with him a wealth of experience, as well as a deep understanding of the BIS as an institution and in-depth knowledge of central banking and financial markets. I look forward to working with him in this new capacity”.