The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) serves central banks in their pursuit of monetary and financial stability, fosters international cooperation in those areas and acts as a bank for central banks. In outline, the BIS pursues this mission by:
- facilitating dialogue and collaboration among central banks and other authorities that are responsible for promoting financial stability;
- conducting research on policy issues confronting central banks and financial supervisory authorities;
- acting as a prime counterparty for central banks in their financial transactions; and
- serving as an agent or trustee in connection with international financial operations.
The BIS has its head office in Basel, Switzerland, and representative offices in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (Hong Kong SAR) and in Mexico City.
In the light of the aims outlined above, this chapter reviews the activities of the BIS, and of the groups it hosts, for the financial year 2014/15; describes the institutional framework that supports the work of those groups; and presents the year’s financial results