In a meeting held on March 10-11, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) has decided to expand its membership and invite India as a new member. The other countries that are invited to become members are Australia, Brazil, China, Korea, Mexico and Russia. The Basel Committee’s governance body will also be enlarged to include the central bank governors and heads of supervision from these new member organizations.

          Meanwhile, the Financial Stability Forum (FSF), established by the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in 1999, has also decided at its plenary meeting in London, on March 11-12, to broaden its membership and to invite India as a new members. Other countries invited to become as news members are the G-20 countries that are not currently in the FSF and these, apart from India, are Argentina, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Spain and the European Commission.

          The FSF was established to promote international financial stability through enhanced information exchange and international cooperation in financial market supervision and surveillance. The current FSF comprises national financial authorities like central banks, supervisory authorities and finance ministries from the G-7 countries, Australia, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Singapore and Switzerland, as well as international financial institutions, international regulatory and supervisory groupings, committees of central bank experts and the European Central Bank. The FSF Secretariat is based at the Bank of International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland.

          The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision provides a forum for regular cooperation on banking supervisory matters. It seeks to promote and strengthen supervisory and risk management practices globally. With its expanded membership, the committee is comprised of representatives from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Committee’s Secretariat is based at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland.