The Board of the Bank for International Settlements has elected Fabio Panetta, Governor of the Bank of Italy, as its new Chair for a three-year term beginning 3 June 2026. He succeeds François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, who steps down from the post on 2 June.

The appointment was announced by the Basel-based institution alongside a series of changes to the leadership of its main advisory bodies. It positions Panetta at the head of the Board of the world's oldest international financial organisation at a moment of continuing debate over the role of central banks in cross-border payments, digital currencies and financial stability.

PANETTA TAKES OVER FROM VILLEROY

Villeroy de Galhau has chaired the BIS Board since 2022 and hands over the role after leading it through a period of intense focus on the central banking response to inflation and to structural change in the international monetary system. His departure from the chairmanship coincides with the end of his current mandate in the role.

Panetta became Governor of the Bank of Italy in November 2023 after a career at the European Central Bank, where he served on the Executive Board and led work on the digital euro project. He brings to the BIS chair extensive experience of both national and euro-area monetary policy, as well as involvement in the international regulatory agenda.

The Board Chair position, while not executive, carries significant convening power. The Chair oversees Board meetings that gather governors of major central banks and steers the strategic direction of the BIS between the periodic global-economy meetings held in Basel.

NEW LEADERS FOR KEY GROUPS

Alongside Panetta's election, the BIS confirmed a slate of appointments to lead its principal governor groups. Gabriel Galípolo, President of the Central Bank of Brazil, has been named Chair of the Governors of major emerging market economies, a forum that brings together the leaders of the largest developing-country central banks.

Michele Bullock, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, will chair the Asian Consultative Council, which discusses issues of common interest to central banks in the Asia-Pacific region. Kazuo Ueda, Governor of the Bank of Japan, has been appointed Chair of the Committee on the Global Financial System, one of the standing committees hosted by the BIS to analyse financial market developments.

Taken together, the appointments distribute leadership of the BIS's main governance and analytical bodies across Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific, reflecting the geographic breadth of its central bank membership. They also lock in continuity of oversight as the institution pursues its work on payments innovation, financial stability monitoring and the international coordination of prudential standards.

The new terms will formally take effect in early June, according to the announcement published on the BIS website. The BIS acts as bank for central banks and as a forum for cooperation among monetary authorities, and its Board draws its membership from the governors of central banks in its most active jurisdictions. Rotation of leadership across its principal committees is a routine feature of the institution's governance, and the latest slate of appointments is consistent with that pattern of periodic renewal.