An international organization, based in Basel, Switzerland, that acts as a central bank for the banks of major industrial countries. The BIS was chartered in 1930 by a group of European central banks and has evolved since the 1960s into an influential institution that hosts periodic meetings of central bankers from the most developed countries. Through communication and research, the BIS attempts to create cooperation and set up the conditions for world-
wide financial stability. In 1988, the BIS developed the risk-based capital standard, which classifies loans and other bank assets by risk. The risk-based capital standard was adopted by banks in the Group of 10 countries: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
A latecomer and an eleventh member Switzerland, however the name G-10 was retained.