Philippine Ambassador to Switzerland Maria Theresa P. Lazaro met with Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Acting General Manager Mr. Hervé Hannoun in a meeting held at the BIS Headquarters in Basel. The BIS was established to foster international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks. Its head office is in Basel, Switzerland, and it has two representative offices, one in Hong Kong for Asia and the Pacific with Mr. Eli Remolona, a Filipino, as Deputy Chief Representative, and one in Mexico City for the Americas.

During the discussions, it was noted that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is an active member of BIS since 2003 and has participated in its high–level meetings. BSP has also benefitted from trainings and seminars conducted by the BIS as an institution and those jointly sponsored by Southeast Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) in Kuala Lumpur.

Ambassador Lazaro thanked Mr. Hannoun for the Bank for International Settlements’ acknowledgement of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ financial policy initiatives that have proven to be effective in addressing the global financial crisis.