BIS appoints head of its new innovation hub
The board of directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has appointed Benoît Cœuré as head of the new BIS innovation hub, set up to foster international collaboration among central banks on innovative financial technology.
Benoît Cœuré will be the head of the BIS innovation hub.
Cœuré will start his new role on 15 January 2020 for a five-year term. He chaired the committee on payments and market infrastructures, the global standard setter for payment, clearing and settlement services since 2013, and he also led the working group on global stablecoins and co-chairs – a related Financial Stability Board (FSB) working group.
“I am delighted to have Benoît on board to advance the important mission of the hub, which is to harness innovation to improve the functioning of the international financial system,” says Agustín Carstens, general manager of the BIS.
The hub’s mandate is to identify, and develop in-depth insights into, critical trends in technology affecting central banking; develop public goods in the technology space geared towards improving the functioning of the global financial system; and serve as a focal point for a network of central bank experts on innovation.
In the initial phase, the hub will operate in three locations. Centres have already been established in Switzerland and Hong Kong, in collaboration with the Swiss National Bank and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and a third will be launched in Singapore, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, on 13 November. Additional locations will follow as part of a second phase of implementation.
Cœuré has been a member of the European Central Bank (ECB) executive board since January 2012 and is currently in charge of international and European relations, market operations, market infrastructure and payments, and the oversight of payment systems; his eight-year term expires on 31 December.
