Agustín Carstens appointed as BIS General Manager

The Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) today announced the appointment of Agustín Carstens as General Manager. His appointment takes effect on 1 October 2017 and is for a five-year term.

Mr Carstens is Governor of the Bank of Mexico, a position he has held since 2010. He will take over the position of BIS General Manager from Jaime Caruana who will retire from the Bank next year. Mr Caruana will stay on as General Manager for an additional three months, to 30 September 2017.

Jens Weidmann, Chair of the BIS Board of Directors, said today: "The Board of Directors is delighted to have secured a person of Mr Carstens's remarkable calibre and international experience to be the next BIS General Manager.

"He is held in high regard in the central banking and international financial communities and already has a strong relationship with the BIS. A member of the BIS Board since 2011, since 2013 he has successfully chaired the Global Economy Meeting of Governors, assessing developments, risks and opportunities in the world economy and the global financial system, as well as the Economic Consultative Committee. The Board looks forward very much to working closely with Mr Carstens in his new role."

In selecting the new General Manager, Mr Weidmann was assisted by a Nomination Committee, chaired by himself and made up of members of the BIS Board of Directors (Mark Carney, Mario Draghi, Haruhiko Kuroda, François Villeroy de Galhau, Ignazio Visco and Janet Yellen).

Biographical note: Agustín Carstens

Agustín Carstens is currently Governor of the Bank of Mexico, a position he has held since 2010.

Mr Carstens began his professional career in 1980 at the Bank of Mexico, holding positions in the central bank's International Department, Economic Research Department, and in the Office of the Governor.

From 1999 to 2000, Mr Carstens was Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and from 2000 to 2003 served as deputy finance minister in Mexico. In 2003, he was appointed as the IMF's Deputy Managing Director.

Mr Carstens was Mexico's Minister of Finance from 2006 to 2009. While in this role, he chaired the IMF/World Bank Joint Development Committee.

Mr Carstens has been a member of the Steering Committee of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) since 2010 and chaired the FSB's Standing Committee on Assessment of Vulnerabilities between 2013 and 2015.

Since 2015 he has chaired the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the IMF's policy advisory committee.

Born on 9 June 1958 in Mexico City, Mr Carstens holds an MA and a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago. He received his BA in economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.