The head of the Bank for International Settlements has defended its role in setting global financial standards amid growing criticism from US regulators. Pablo Hernández de Cos, who became general manager of the BIS last year, said in a speech that the "increased resilience of the banking system is a significant success of international regulatory co-operation."

His comments come as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision faces mounting attacks from US officials who are suspicious of rules being set for American banks by a Europe-based body. Michelle Bowman, vice-chair for supervision at the Federal Reserve, told a Senate hearing that US regulators have "long had growing governance concerns" about the Basel committee, citing reduced leadership rotation and geographic imbalance.

More than half of the 182 people recruited by the BIS in the year to March 2025 were European citizens, with only 12% from North America. European officials counter that US fears about European bias are misplaced, noting that recent bank capital agreements have been more painful for European lenders than for US ones. The dispute comes as regulators face pressure to ease post-2008 financial crisis reforms, with uncertainty over the fate of the wider Basel III agreement.