The BIS Chronology chronicles the main events relevant to the history of the Bank for International Settlements since it was created in 1929-30. Major financial, monetary and world events that are not directly related to the BIS, but that have had an impact on it, are listed in italics.
| 1929 | ||
| Feb-Jun | Committee of Experts (Young Committee) meets in Paris to discuss the German reparations question | |
| 7 Jun | Young Plan to deal with the German reparations question, is officially proposed; the plan includes the creation of an international bank for this purpose | |
| 31 Aug | First Hague Conference to discuss Young Plan proposals ends | |
| 3 Oct-13 Nov | Committee to elaborate the structure and statutes of the international bank - named Bank for International Settlements - meets in Baden-Baden, Germany (Comité d'Organisation de la Banque des Règlements Internationaux, or COBRI) | |
| 24 Oct | "Black Thursday" at the New York Stock Exchange (Wall Street crash) | |
| 1930 | ||
| 20 Jan | Final Act, Second Hague Conference; Young Plan agreed | |
| 26-27 Feb | Central bank governors meet in Rome: official foundation of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), nomination of President and Board members | |
| 8 Mar | Reichsbank President Hjalmar Schacht resigns over the Young Plan | |
| 22-23 Apr | First unofficial meeting of the nominated Directors of the BIS in Basel | |
| 12 May | First official meeting of the BIS Board of Directors | |
| 17 May |
BIS opens doors for business in Basel: Gates W McGarrah, President; Leon Fraser, Alternate to the President; Pierre Quesnay, General Manager |
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| 20 May | Founding banks subscribe first share issue | |
| 24-25 Nov | Meeting of Committee of Exchange Experts at the BIS | |
| 1931 | ||
| Apr | BIS makes £3 000 000 advance to Bank of Spain to stabilise peseta | |
| 11 May | Austrian government announces Creditanstalt crisis | |
| 19 May | First Annual General meeting (AGM) of the BIS | |
| 30 May | BIS grants Sch.100 000 000 credit to Austrian National Bank | |
| 6 Jun | BIS advance of $5 000 000 to Hungarian National Bank | |
| 18-22 Jun | BIS syndicate credit of $ 10 000 000 to Hungarian National Bank | |
| 20 Jun | US government announces Hoover moratorium: one-year suspension of intergovernmental debts and reparations | |
| 26 Jun | BIS, with Bank of England, Bank of France, and Federal Reserve Bank of New York, grant $100 000 000 credit to Reichsbank | |
| 8 Jul | Second BIS syndicate credit of $11 000 000 to Hungarian National Bank | |
| 20 Jul | BIS grants £150 000 credit to Bank of Danzig | |
| 20-23 Jul | London Conference on German financial crisis | |
| 31 Jul | BIS and Bank of France grant $3 000 000 credit to National Bank of Yugoslavia | |
| 8-18 Aug | Wiggin Committee inquiring into Germany's credit needs meets at the BIS in Basel | |
| 18 Aug |
First German Standstill Agreement (freezing of short-term credit
granted to Germany for six months from 1 September) agreed at the BIS
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| Sep | Per Jacobsson takes up position as BIS Economic Adviser | |
| Sep | BIS appoints German Standstill Agreement Arbitration Committee: Wallenberg, McKittrick, and Urbig | |
| 21 Sep | United Kingdom suspends gold standard | |
| Nov | Frère Plan for medium-term credits elaborated at the BIS | |
| 19 Nov | The German government requests that the Special Advisory Committee provided for the Young Plan be convened | |
| 7-23 Dec | Special Advisory Committee, or Beneduce Committee, meets at the BIS in Basel; its final report recognises Germany's incapacity to resume reparation transfers | |
| 1932 | ||
| 1 Mar | Second German Standstill Agreement (one year) | |
| Jul | Keynes-Henderson Plan proposes issue of an international note by the BIS | |
| 9 Jul | Lausanne Conference Agreement on suspension of reparations schedule (Young Plan) BIS invited to participate in Preparation Committee for a League of Nations' World Monetary and Economic Conference | |
| 11 Jul |
BIS Board issues public statement advocating restoration of the gold standard
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| 5-20 Sep |
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Stresa Conference for the economic
reconstruction of Central and Eastern Europe proposes establishment of a
Monetary Normalisation Fund
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| Oct-Nov |
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Preparatory Committee for the World Monetary and Economic
Conference meets in Geneva; Fraser, Trip, and Jacobsson represent BIS
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| 1933
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| Jan |
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League of Nations publishes agenda for the World Monetary and
Economic Conference; BIS invited to designate two representatives to
participate in the Conference in a consultative capacity
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| 13 Apr |
Full reimbursement closes Reichsbank emergency credit of 26 June 1931
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| 19 Apr | United States officially suspends gold convertibility | |
| 8 May | Third BIS AGM; Leon Fraser succeeds Gates W McGarrah as President and Chairman of the BIS Board | |
| 5 Jun | BIS Board meeting adopts resolution calling for independent central banks as a prerequisite for reinstatement of gold standard | |
| 12 Jun | League of Nations' World Monetary and Economic Conference opens in London | |
| 3 Jul | Roosevelt's "bombshell" declaration sounds death knell for early dollar stabilisation. Formation of "gold bloc" announced: Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Switzerland participate | |
| 8 Jul | BIS President Fraser attends first meeting of "gold bloc" in Paris | |
| Sep | Repayment in full of the BIS credit granted to the Austrian National Bank on 30 May 1931 | |
| 1934 | ||
| 31 Jan | US Gold Reserve Act fixes price of gold at $35 per ounce, with a 59% devaluation of the dollar against gold | |
| Apr-May | Transfer Conference at the Reichsbank in Berlin to discuss reductions in Germany's long-term debt service | |
| 14 May | Fourth BIS AGM adopts resolution on the gold standard | |
| 14 Jun | German finance minister announces suspension of further payments through the BIS for service of Dawes and Young loans as from 1 July 1934 | |
| 8 Oct | "Gold bloc" governors meet privately at the BIS in preparation of the Brussels conference | |
| 20 Oct | Conference of "gold bloc" representatives in Brussels confirms commitment to gold parity | |
| 1935 | ||
| 11 Feb | Franco-German Saar Agreements signed at the BIS: final settlement of financial questions raised by the transfer of the Saar territory to Germany | |
| 1 Apr | First defection from the "gold bloc": Belgian franc devalues by 28% | |
| 1 May | Jan W Beijen (Beyen) takes office as alternate to the BIS President | |
| 13 May | Fifth BIS AGM; Leonardus J A Trip succeeds Fraser as President and Chairman of the BIS Board | |
| 30 Jun | Resignation of Fraser and McGarrah ends US representation on the BIS Board | |
| 1936 | ||
| 13 Feb | BIS gives up discrimination against non-gold-standard currencies | |
| 30 Jul | Brussels Protocol signed by government representatives, giving effect to Art. X of the Hague Agreement protecting the BIS' property, assets, and deposits in time of peace or war | |
| 25 Sep | Tripartite Monetary Agreement between France, the United Kingdom, and the United States announced; France suspends gold convertibility (franc devalued); "gold bloc" collapses | |
| 1937 |
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| Mar | BIS accepts trustee functions for the 4.5% French National Security Loan | |
| 3 May | Jan W Beijen (Beyen) succeeds Leonardus J A Trip as President of the BIS; Otto Niemeyer elected Chairman of the Board | |
| 8 Sep | BIS General Manager Pierre Quesnay dies in a drowning accident | |
| Dec | BIS concludes agreement with Swiss National Bank on gold purchases at fixed prices | |
| 1938 | ||
| Jan | Publication of the "Van Zeeland Report" on the possibility of removing obstacles to trade | |
| 1 Jan | Roger Auboin takes office as new General Manager of the BIS | |
| 25 Jun | Following the liquidation of the Austrian National Bank, the 4 000 BIS shares held by that institution are re-registered in the name of the Reichsbank | |
| Sep | War scare in Europe provokes a strong increase in central bank gold shipments from Europe to the United States organised by the BIS | |
| 1939 | ||
| 21-24 Mar | BIS carries out transfer order of Czechoslovakian National Bank's gold reserves to Reichsbank account | |
| 12 Jun | BIS Board meeting: Thomas H McKittrick elected BIS President effective from 1 January 1940; discussion of legality of executing the Czechoslovakian gold transfer order | |
| 10 Jul | 94th BIS Board meeting, last Board meeting until 9 December 1946: discussion on the Bank's investment policy | |
| 4 Sep | BIS suspends all new commercial credit operations | |
| 18 Dec | BIS notifies counterparties of "rules of neutral conduct" |
1940-1949
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