The bank for central banks

BIS banking services are provided by the Banking Department and are designed to meet the reserve management demands of central bank and other official sector customers. In addition to delivering on reserve managers' core objectives of safety, liquidity and return, this involves reliable execution, around-the-clock service provision and strong customer focus. The BIS's banking activities thus evolve continuously to keep pace with the reserve management community's adjustment to the changing macro-financial environment, driving a strong emphasis on product innovation and competitive pricing across the whole product range.

The BIS offers a broad range of financial services to a global customer base of about 200 central banks, monetary authorities and international organisations. To provide these services, BIS banking operates from three interlinked dealing rooms, located in Basel, Hong Kong SAR and Mexico City. Jointly, the three locations offer services on a near 24-hour basis to all BIS clients, and maintain close contact with reserve managers and other counterparties across the globe, and from the Asian through the European and late US trading sessions.

The objective of the Bank's own funds management is to maximise, within a defined set of risk constraints, the return on the Bank's equity capital. This equity capital stems from the paid-in capital of its shareholders and the retained earnings from its banking activities.

The Banking Department maintains an active programme of regular, bilateral client meetings as well as a schedule of larger seminar-style events to share knowledge