How Institute of International Bankers Works

IIB is an essential advocate of all US-based international banks on issues involving pending regulatory, tax, and legislative matters before crucial government agencies. These agencies include the Treasury Department, The Ways and Means (Senate Banking and Finance) Committees, the House Financial Services, Office of Comptroller of the Currency, the Internal Revenue Service, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Deposit Insurance Corporation. IIB plays these advocacy roles through comment letters, informal discussions, briefings, and testimony, among others.

The IIB Board of Trustees (as elected by the institution’s members) generally guides its governance and organization structures. At the same time, an appointed full-time Chief Executive Officer runs the institution’s operations. Each member bank has a general manager who serves as a voting representative; overall, the members carefully balance the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees to ensure they reflect the diversity and vital interests of the entire IIB membership.

The IIB’s general membership usually provides guidance and direct input on vital regulatory, tax-compliance and legislative issues. The board is responsible for setting the policy agenda through constant communication and frequent meetings. In practice, specific affinity groups that serve within IIB’s membership regularly gather to discuss matters of mutual importance and pertinent developments. Further, IIB works through a Professional Liaison Committee comprised of accounting, consulting, major law, and other professional firms linked to the Institute-related associations worldwide.

Real-World Example of Institute of International Bankers Activities

In March every year, IIB holds a two-day conference in Washington DC, USA. The top US and other international government policy advocates and financial industry leaders are usually among the attendees (alongside senior IIB officers and the general managers of IIB member banks). In this forum, the institute usually organizes an evening reception for the Washington community, including US administration officials, senior staff, banking regulators, and members of Congress. Furthermore, every time in June, IIB simultaneously holds an Annual Membership Luncheon. It has its Annual General Meeting and the elections; the institute similarly invites senior officials to attend.

In the course of the annual World Bank/IMF meetings, IIB usually holds a special on-site function known as “The Breakfast Dialogue with Government Officials.” Typically, it hosts a US Federal Reserve Board member, an official from the Treasury Department, and one senior official each from the House and Senate Banking Committees. The organizers carefully design the Breakfast Dialogue format to encourage an active exchange of opinions and views between the US-based senior management and IIB member bank’s home offices. Besides, IIB organizes other periodic Luncheons for all its members; the luncheons involve guest speakers invited from the highest ranks of government and industry.

In its educational endeavors, IIB organizes regular seminars throughout the year to discuss policy matters affecting the US international banking community. It holds other meetings dealing with the latest developments in business strategies and financial products. IIB conducts some of these events (like the two-day June tax seminar) annually while arranging other events in response to current developments. Overall, IIB actively encourages the representatives of member banks (either from a single country or a specific region) to attend the various institute-based conferences and come together to discuss issues of common interest.

History of Institute of International Bankers

The founders of the Institute of International Bankers (IIB) first established the institution in 1966. In time, the IIB membership grew to include more than 35 internationally-headquartered institutions from several countries worldwide. The various US branches, banking subsidiaries, security affiliates, agencies, and other IIB member-bank operations are crucial credit sources for millions of US borrowers. Overall, they are essential for enhancing the liquidity and depth of the entire US financial market.

The IIB aims to ensure that state and federal banking laws and regulations facilitate international banks that operate within the US by offering similar opportunities as domestic banks. The IIB also monitors the judicial, regulatory, and legislative developments at the state and federal levels.

By directly employing more than 100,000 US permanent residents and citizens (through various operating and capital expenditures), the banks that make up the IIB membership play a crucial role by injecting billions of dollars annually into many major cities across the US.

Significance of Institute of International Bankers

IIB is the defacto representative of the US international banking community. In this role, IIB has achieved remarkable goals that would be prohibitively expensive or virtually impossible for a single bank or smaller groups of banks to execute. The primary mandate of the Institute of International Bankers is to ensure various banking laws and applicable regulations align to the operations of different international banks that work within the US. Moreover, IIB aims to provide very competitive opportunities in the same way the domestic banking institutions do.

In this regard, IIB is committed to careful monitoring of all legal and other relevant developments to seek results that align with the US policy of national interest; basically, it aims to advance its member’s broader interests. Furthermore, IIB is committed to ensuring the global operations of all member banks are not hindered by inappropriate extraterritorial application of the dynamic US laws.

As an institute, IIB acts as a valuable source of information to the media, policymakers, and other parties interested in international banking matters. Moreover, the institute is a perfect forum for understanding the benefits of participating in a free global market environment.