Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Bank for International Settlements was formally established in 1930, opening its doors in Basel, Switzerland, on the 17th of May 1930. It is the oldest international financial institution in existence.
The BIS was created to oversee the settlement of World War I war reparations owed by Germany. It emerged from the Young Committee negotiations of 1929-30, where seven countries - Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States - agreed on a jointly governed institution to manage reparation payments and foster central bank cooperation.
The BIS is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, a location chosen for its neutral country status and good railway connections. It also has representative offices in Hong Kong SAR and Mexico City.
The BIS remained open during World War II but suspended Board meetings. At their peak, the Reichsbank and central banks from Nazi-occupied countries held 67.4 percent of BIS voting stock. Business volume fell 95 percent by 1943. The 1944 Bretton Woods Conference voted to liquidate the BIS, but the decision was officially reversed in 1948.
The BIS has members from 63 central bank jurisdictions, spread across Europe, Asia, South America, North America, Africa, and Oceania. This membership collectively represents roughly 95 percent of global GDP. The Bank of Russia's membership has been suspended since March 2022.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision was created by G10 governors at the BIS following the collapse of Herstatt Bank in 1974. The BIS hosts its secretariat. The Committee produced Basel I in 1988, Basel II in 2004, and Basel III between 2010 and 2017, establishing the capital adequacy standards that internationally active commercial banks must meet.