andreas dombret : closer cooperation between the south african reserve bank and the deutsche bundesbank speech by dr andreas dombret, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at a press conference at the south african reserve bank, pretoria, 29 august 2016. * * * ladies and gentlemen we meet here today to herald a new phase of closer cooperation between the south african reserve bank and the deutsche bundesbank. and we do so in an environment that looks very different than it did just a couple of years ago – especially from the perspective of a central bank. it ’ s no news that the world has been growing ever closer for decades. and the financial sector is certainly no exception, with banks and other financial institutions globalising their business and becoming increasingly intertwined. 1. structure of the bundesbank ’ s international representative network as germany ’ s central bank, the deutsche bundesbank has adapted to these challenges by establishing a network of • two representative offices : one in new york and one in tokyo, and • representatives based at german embassies or consulates general worldwide. as early as in 1963, a financial economist from the bundesbank worked at the german consulate general in new york and simultaneously held the post of bundesbank representative at the world ’ s most important financial centre. in the years that followed, the bundesbank and the german foreign office agreed to create similar positions at the german embassy in london and at germany ’ s permanent mission to the oecd in paris. over time, further important financial and political centres were added to this list : beijing, brussels, istanbul, moscow, mumbai, sao paulo and singapore. there is an important cornerstone of the bundesbank ’ s international representative network i should also like to mention – the bundesbank and germany ’ s federal ministry of finance take turns in nominating the german imf executive director and his or her deputy. and we together staff the german imf office. our international representative network got a boost in 1986, when the bundesbank opened representative offices in new york and tokyo as entities detached from the official german missions in those two cities. moreover, a number of years ago we added trading desks to both representative offices. these trading desks now fulfil an important role in the administration of the german reserve assets. since then, the bundesbank has repeatedly evaluated its assumptions and adjusted the structure of its representative network to reflect changes in the bundesbank ’ s

she has analysed the economic situation of a vast number of countries for the bundesbank and gained a sound overview of the problematic issues facing various parts of the world, also in terms of the spill - over effects bis central bankers ’ speeches of industrial countries ’ policies on other parts of the world. ms kilp is already familiar with south africa as she worked on a project here while she was a student. now she is committed to moving with her family to this great country for at least two to three years. i value her openness, excellent specialist knowledge and ingenuity – all traits which will serve her well in her new post! some of you have already met her, and i am sure that she will be a great first bundesbank representative to south africa. by stepping up the cooperation between the bundesbank and the south african reserve bank, we will be able to jointly shape the future landscape for independent central banks. i am looking forward to continuing our close working relationship with our colleagues from the south african reserve bank. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches