BIS Board invites new members, appoints Hans Tietmeyer as Vice-Chairman

The Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), meeting in Basel, Switzerland, today announced its decision to invite six central banks to BIS membership.

Invitations are extended to the Bank of Algeria, the Central Bank of Chile, Bank Indonesia, the Bank of Israel, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Central Bank of the Philippines. These central banks were selected in accordance with Article 8.3 of the BIS Statutes.

The invitations to membership constitute a further step in a process that began in 1996 with invitations to nine central banks,¹ and continued in 1999 when four new members² subscribed to shares. The enlargements have served to underpin the Bank's increasingly global activities and the regional interests of its shareholding members.

In a separate decision, the Board elected Hans Tietmeyer, former President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, as its Vice-Chairman. The appointment is from 1 July 2003 to 31 December 2005. Mr Tietmeyer succeeds Lord Kingsdown, who had held the post since 1996.

¹ Central Bank of Brazil, The People's Bank of China, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Reserve Bank of India, The Bank of Korea, Bank of Mexico, Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency and Monetary Authority of Singapore.

² Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, European Central Bank, Central Bank of Malaysia and Bank of Thailand.