Executive appointments approved

The Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) today reappointed Mr. Andrew Crockett as General Manager of the BIS for a second five-year term. Mr. Crockett has served as General Manager since 1st January 1994.

The Board also appointed Mr. Robert D. Sleeper as Head of the Banking Department. On 1st February 1999, Mr. Sleeper, a US citizen, will succeed Mr. Malcolm Gill, who will retire shortly thereafter.

Mr. Sleeper was until recently Managing Director of the Foreign Exchange Hedge Unit of Chase Manhattan Bank, where, during a 17-year tenure, he also held a number of other senior executive positions. Mr. Sleeper also has six years' experience of central banking at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Oxford University.

The BIS provides a forum for international monetary cooperation, is a centre for monetary and economic research and offers a wide range of banking facilities which are specifically designed to assist central banks in the management of their foreign exchange and gold reserves. Additional information may be found on the BIS Web site.