Tower of Basel
The Shadowy History of the Secret Bank that Runs the World
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4.4 • 5 Ratings
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
A brilliant investigation into the most powerful institution you’ve never heard of.
“An absorbing and thorough examination.” —Reuters
The Bank for International Settlements is the bank for central banks. It is one of the world’s most secretive—and most influential—global financial institutions.
Created by the governors of the Bank of England and the Reichsbank in 1930 and protected by an international treaty, the BIS and its assets are untouchable, legally beyond the reach of any government or jurisdiction. In the 1940s, under the supervision of an American banker, the BIS accepted looted Nazi gold, conducted deals for the Reichsbank, and was used by both the Allies and the Axis powers as a secret contact point to keep the channels of international finance open.
Now updated with two new chapters on the BIS’s role in the development of Central Bank Digital Currencies and their disturbing implications for civil liberties and personal financial autonomy, Tower of Basel offers an incisive and enthralling picture of one of the most powerful financial organizations to ever exist.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Budapest-based journalist and literary critic Lebor (Hitler's Secret Bankers) offers a critical history of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), a complex financial enterprise founded in 1930 and located in Basel, Switzerland, that serves the world's central banks. Claiming access to new sources and insider information, Lebor exposes the wheeling, dealing, and often nefarious activities of global investment bankers. The book explores the "massive capital movements" worldwide before and after WWII that anticipated today's globalized economy, and highlights the bank's relationship to both Nazi Germany and postwar Germany. Lebor calls the BIS today an "opaque, elitist, and anti-democratic institution, out of step with the twenty-first century." Though this lively account too often resorts to the incriminating tone of investigative reporting, the historical and contemporary power of the secretive BIS will surprise and alarm readers. While the BIS's past deeds are gamy and its operations today are "shadowy," central banking mechanisms and international monetary networks exist for good reasons. As one of the bankers interviewed suggests, the BIS could serve an important future role in keeping the euro intact.
Customer Reviews
Speculative
It was a pleasant read but to a great degree it is rather speculative.