The board of directors of the Bank for International Settlements announced the election of three additional central bank governors as members of its board.

Joining the board of the BIS are: Guillermo Ortiz, Governor of the Bank of Mexico; Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank; and, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China.

The term of office of each elected director of the BIS is for an initial period of three years, which may be renewed. This enlargement of the BIS board is the first since 1994 and takes effect on July 1.

The three new elections bring the BIS board’s membership more into line with the bank’s global role, it says. Since 1996, the BIS has increased its membership from 36 to 55 central banks and, in the process, has raised the number of non-European and emerging market member central banks.

Jean-Pierre Roth, chairman of the board, welcomed the new members, saying that “they bring the global diversity of BIS membership to board level”. The board’s main responsibilities are to determine the bank’s strategy and policy direction and to supervise the bank’s management.