Published : 4 weeks ago, on 12/11/2024

LONDON (Reuters) – Spain’s former central bank governor, Pablo Hernandez de Cos, was picked on Monday to lead the Bank for International Settlements, the near century-old institution that brings together rate-setters from around the world.

De Cos will replace Mexico’s Agustín Carstens as the BIS’s General Manager on July 1, 2025, for a five-year term. The appointment gives the Spaniard, who was highly regarded during his tenure at the Bank of Spain and the European Central Bank, visibility to apply for a seat on the ECB’s board in the coming years.

“Mr Hernández de Cos is a person of remarkable calibre and global experience, and we are fully confident that he will embody the spirit of international trust and technical excellence on which the BIS is built,” François Villeroy de Galhau, chair of the BIS Board of Directors and governor of the Banque de France, said.

Based in Basel, Switzerland, the Bank for International Settlements does not have real policymaking powers but it provides a forum for central bankers to discuss financial and economic matters at regular meetings at its headquarters in Basel. It also produces research and offers banking services to central banks.

Established in 1930, the BIS was initially entrusted with overseeing Germany’s World War One reparations. It now counts 63 central banks as its shareholders and its top brass regularly feature at the world’s top economic policy events.

Spain’s appointee to the ECB’s board, Luis de Guindos, is due to step down in 2026, followed by the euro zone central bank’s chief economist Philip Lane and its president, Christine Lagarde, in 2027.

(Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe and Francesco Canepa; Editing by Christina Fincher)