1990-1999

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.

 

1990
5 Jan		EMS realignment: narrower margin and devaluation for the Italian lira
Mar		BIS participation of $296 million in a $400 million credit facility to the Central Bank of Venezuela
Apr		BCBS releases the report "Principles for the Supervision of Banks' Foreign Establishments", an amendment of the 1983 "Principles"
29 May		Treaty signed establishing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
11 Jun		Bundesbank President Pöhl proposes achieving EMU in a "two-speed process"
20 Jun		BIS participation of $260 million in a $300 million bridging facility to the National Bank of Hungary and of $133.5 million in a $178 million bridging loan to the Bank of Guyana
Jul		Creation at the BIS of a Service for Eastern European Countries and International Organisations, in order to coordinate technical assistance to central banks in the region
1 Jul		Beginning of stage one of EMU: abolishment of capital movement restrictions
2 Jul		Monetary union between East and West Germany takes effect
8 Oct		United Kingdom joins the ERM
Nov		BIS releases a report of the Committee on Interbank Netting Schemes of the central banks of the G10 countries ("Lamfalussy Report")
12 Nov		G10 Governors announce establishment of permanent Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS)
1991
Jan		Bengt Dennis appointed President of the BIS
7 Mar		BIS participation of $260 million in a $300 million credit facility to the National Bank of Romania
14 Apr		Inauguration of the EBRD in London
5 Jul		Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) closed by central banks after allegations of fraud
Sep		BIS participation of 145 million ECU in a 300 million ECU bridging facility to the National Bank of Romania
1992
7 Feb		Signature of the Treaty on European Union ("Maastricht Treaty")
6 Apr		Portugal joins ERM
17 May		Swiss referendum in favour of IMF and World Bank membership
1 Jun		Russia joins the IMF and World Bank
2 Jun		Danish referendum narrowly rejects the Maastricht Treaty
30 Jun		Reactivation of the central banks of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania's shareholdership in the BIS (frozen since 1940)
5 Aug		Standby arrangement of SDR 719 million for the Russian Federation
Sep		IMF, EC, EBRD, IBRD, OECD, and BIS set up the Joint Vienna Institute (JVI), to provide technical training, mainly to officials from Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and a number of Asian countries
Sep		CPSS publishes "Delivery versus Payment in Securities Settlement Systems"
14 Sep		EMS realignment: Italian lira devalued by 3.5%, the ten other currencies revalued by 3.5%
16 Sep		Italian lira, peseta, and sterling forced through the floor of the EMS; sterling leaves ERM; Swedish discount rate temporarily at 500%
17 Sep		Italian lira leaves ERM; Spanish peseta devalued by 5%
20 Sep		Referendum in France narrowly in favour of the Maastricht Treaty
Oct		ECSC publishes "Recent Developments in International Interbank Relations" ("PromiseI Report")
Nov		Further devaluation of Spanish peseta and Portuguese escudo; Swedish and Norwegian currencies are allowed to float
6 Dec		Referendum in Switzerland rejects ratification of the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Negotiations on Switzerland's accession to the EC suspended until further notice
1993
Jan-May		Strains on ERM: devaluations of the Irish punt, Spanish peseta, and Portuguese escudo
1 Jan		Single European Market comes into force: freedom of movement for goods, services, persons, and capital
14 Jun		The national banks of the Czech Republic and Slovakia become members of the BIS as successors of the Czechoslovakian central bank
10 Aug		ERM crisis: pre-emptive revision of the mechanism with the adoption of 15% floating margins for most currencies
Sep		CPSS publishes "Central Bank Payment and Settlement Services with Respect to Cross-Border and Multi-Currency Transactions"
1 Nov		Treaty on the EU ("Maastricht Treaty") takes effect
31 Dec		The Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the Member States of the EU, set up in 1964, is wound up and replaced by EMI
1994
Jan		Wim F Duisenberg is re-appointed President of the BIS; Andrew D Crockett succeeds Alexandre Lamfalussy as BIS General Manager; Lamfalussy becomes President of the EMI
Jan		International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) established
1 Jan		Establishment of the European Monetary Institute (EMI) with a temporary seat in Basel; the BIS will act as Agent for the EMI
15 Apr		BIS takes up the function of collateral Agent in connection with the restructuring of Brazilian external debt
Jul		BCBS publishes "Guidelines for the Supervision and Risk Management of Derivative Business"
Sep		Release of ECSC's report "A Discussion Paper on the Public Disclosure of Market and Credit Risk by Financial Intermediaries" ("Fisher Report")
13 Sep		The US Federal Reserve System takes up the two seats in the Board of Directors to which it had been entitled since 1930. Governors of the Bank of Canada and of the Bank of Japan elected Directors on the BIS Board
Nov		EMI completes its move from the BIS in Basel to the "Eurotower" in Frankfurt am Main
Nov		Release of ECSC's report "Macroeconomic and Monetary Policy Issues Raised by the Growth of Derivative Markets" ("Hannoun Report")
Dec		Fall of the Mexican peso by more than 50%; the country faces default
1995
1 Jan		Austria, Finland, and Sweden join the EU and the EMS; the World Trade Organisation is launched as successor to the GATT
9 Jan		Austria joins the ERM
Feb		Release of ECSC's report "Issues related to the Measurement of Market Size and Macroprudential Risks in Derivative Markets" ("Brockmeijer Report")
26 Feb		Barings Bank crashes as a result of huge losses in derivatives trading
Mar		CPSS releases "Cross-Border Securities Settlements"
6 Mar		Devaluations of the Spanish peseta and Portuguese escudo
15 Mar		BIS arranges short-term credit facility for up to $10 billion in favour of the Bank of Mexico
Apr		BIS conducts its first "Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity"
28 Apr		BIS grants a $1 billion bridging loan to the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic
May		BCBS issues "A Framework for Supervisory Information about Derivates Activities of Banks and Securities Firms"
1 May		William R White succeeds Horst Bockelmann as BIS Economic Adviser
15 May		Termination of BIS agency functions for the EMI
Oct		BIS publishes a report on the implications for central banks of the development of electronic money
1996
Jan		BCBS issues a formal amendment of its "Basel Capital Accord"
Jan		Establishment of the Joint Forum, under the aegis of BCBS, IOSCO, and IAIS, regrouping senior bank, insurance and securities supervisors representing each supervisory constituency
Mar		CPSS publishes "Settlement Risk in Foreign Exchange Transactions"
May		BIS publishes the results of its first "Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity"
15 May		EMI council nominates Wim F Duisenberg to succeed Alexandre Lamfalussy as President of the EMI on 1 July 1997
Aug		CPSS and the Group of Computer Experts publish "Security of electronic money"
Oct		BCBS issues the report "Supervision of Cross-Border Banking"
14 Oct		Finland joins the ERM
23 Oct		The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) decides to locate its Secretariat at the BIS
1 Nov		The People's Bank of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Reserve Bank of India, the Bank of Mexico, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore become shareholding members of the BIS
24 Nov		Italy rejoins the ERM
1997
14 Jan		The Bank of Korea becomes a member of the BIS
Mar		CPSS publishes "Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) Systems" and "Clearing Arrangements for Exchange-Traded Derivatives"
25 Mar		The Central Bank of Brazil becomes a member of the BIS
Apr		BCBS releases its "Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision" and a "Compendium"
7 Apr		BIS takes up the functions of collateral and escrow Agent in connection with the restructuring of Peruvian external debt
30 May		The national banks of Croatia, Macedonia, and Slovenia become members of the BIS
8 Jun		First formal meeting of the Central Bank Governance Steering Group at the BIS
17 Jun		Agreement on the Treaty of Amsterdam ("Stability and Growth Pact")
Jul		Alfons Verplaetse elected President of the BIS
Jul-Aug		Asian currency crisis: devaluation of the Philippines peso (11 July) and the Malaysian ringgit (14 July), and floating of the Indonesian rupiah (14 August)
2 Jul		Devaluation of the Thai baht after speculative attack in May and June
20 Aug		IMF organises a $16.7 billion support package for Thailand
Oct-Dec		Asian crisis: $23 billion support package for Indonesia on 31 October, and a SDR 15.5 billion standby arrangement for South Korea on 4 December
31 Dec		The Central Bank of Bosnia-Herzegovina becomes a member of the BIS
1998
1 Mar		BIS opens its historical archives to the public (30-year rule applies)
31 Mar		BIS takes up the function of collateral Agent in connection with the restructuring of the external debt of Ivory Coast
Apr		BIS co-sponsors Year 2000 Round Table to help the financial industry prepare for the possible effects on information processing systems of the date changeover on 1 January 2000
30 Jun		Inauguration of European Central Bank in Frankfurt; Wim F Duisenberg first President
Jul		Opening of the BIS Representative Office for Asia and the Pacific in Hong Kong SAR; Host Country Agreement with China
Jul		BIS and BCBS set up the Financial Stability Institute (FSI)
Jul		BIS Board decides to purchase the Botta building in Basel to accommodate part of its staff
Jul		CPSS publishes "Reducing Foreign Exchange Settlement Risk: a Progress Report"
20 Jul		IMF finances a SDR 6.3 billion extended fund facility arrangement for Russia
Aug		Russia defaults on its GKO (government short-term bonds) debt and devalues the rouble
Sep		Joint report by CPSS and Euro-Currency Standing Committee on "OTC Derivatives: Settlement Procedures and Counterparty Risk Management"
Sep		Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) hedge fund nearly collapses
2 Dec		BIS coordinates a $13.28 billion standby arrangement for the Central Bank of Brazil
31 Dec		As a result of the euro's introduction, the BIS ceases to act as Agent for the private ECU clearing and settlement system set up on 21 March 1986
1999
Jan		BIS offers new medium-term instrument (MTI) to provide central banks with a longer-dated and liquid investment outlet
1 Jan		Launch of the single currency, the euro, for eleven EU member countries
Feb		Creation of the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) by G7 finance ministers and central bank governors; BIS General Manager Andrew D Crockett appointed Chairman in a personal capacity
Feb		The G10 ECSC, established on 18 April 1971 (see), is renamed "Committee on the Global Financial System" (CGFS)
Mar		Urban Bäckström elected President of the BIS
Mar		BIS, IMF, World Bank, and OECD jointly publish, for the first time, creditor-based measures of countries' external debt
Apr		CGFS issues recommendations for the design of liquid markets
Jun		BCBS releases a first consultative paper setting out a proposed reform of the 1988 Basel Capital Accord
Jul		FSI starts its programme with a view to assisting supervisory authorities in strengthening prudential supervision
Jul		CPSS and IOSCO publish "Securities Lending Transactions: Market Development and Implications"
Jul-Sep		US hedge fund LTCM collapses
Sep		CPSS releases the report "Retail Payments in Selected Countries: a Comparative Study"
26 Sep		Washington Agreement on Gold; European central banks announce they will limit gold sales for a five-year period
Oct		Establishment of central bank governance network at the BIS
Oct		CGFS publishes "A Review of Financial Market Events in Autumn 1998" ("Johnson Report")
9 Dec		The European Central Bank becomes a member of the BIS
24 Dec		The Central Bank of Malaysia becomes a member of the BIS
31 Dec		The "Joint Year 2000 Council" at the BIS coordinates efforts within the regulatory community and between the public and private financial sector to limit the impact on IT systems of the date changeover to 1 January 2000

1980-1989

2000-2009