Kathmandu. Governor Dr Bishwanath Poudel is attending the 95th annual meeting of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) held in Basel, Switzerland from June 27 to 29.
Established in 1930, THE BIS is an international financial institution. It currently has 63 central bank members.
Established with the objective of maintaining monetary and financial stability around the world, the organization has been playing an important role in cooperation between central banks and for the development of the financial system and maintaining financial stability. The meeting was attended by governors and high officials of the central banks of the BIS member states and different countries of the world.
During the meeting, Governor Poudel participated in an interaction on ‘CPMI Emerging Markets and Developing Economies-Breeding Gaps: Financial Inclusion, Regional Integration and Cross Border Payments’ and ‘BIS Innovation Hub Seminar: AI and Safety’. During the programme, discussions were held on the achievements made by the central banks in the inter-country payment system and the challenges faced by the central banks, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the central bank and the challenges it can bring to the banking system and the policy arrangements to be adopted by the central banks to address it. Governor Poudel also participated in an interaction on ‘Regulation and Competitiveness’.
Bis General Manager Agustin Carstens released the annual report at the annual meeting, while Professor Maurais Abtfeld presented a working paper on ‘The International Monetary System: A Fork in the Road’.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Governor Poudel held a meeting with BIS General Manager Agustin Carstens. He also held a meeting with top officials and representatives of bis banking department led by luis benggocha, head of banking department.
During the meeting, discussions were held on the purchase of gold for diversification of foreign exchange reserves investment and collaboration with Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to increase the returns from foreign exchange reserve management by investing in new instruments available in the global market. Discussions were also held on the need for further investment opportunities for safe, profitable and effective management of foreign exchange reserves.
On the sidelines of the annual meeting, Governor Poudel and Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra had a meeting. During the meeting, it was discussed to further expand bilateral relations between the two central banks and to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two central banks in the days to come, to facilitate the payment system and to develop the capacity of human resources.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Governor Poudel and People’s Bank of China (PBC) Governor Pan Gongsheng had a meeting. During the meeting with the Governor of PBC, matters related to bilateral cooperation between the two central banks and continued cooperation to make banking transactions and payment systems easier and more effective were discussed.
Governor Poudel was accompanied by Director of The Department of Regulation of Banks and Financial Institutions Govinda Prasad Nagila and Director of the Governor’s Office and Secretary of the Board of Directors Sharan Kumar Adhikari.
