SEOUL, November 10 (AJP) —Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor and former BIS economist Shin Hyun-song has been named chair of a key international payments standards body, becoming its first central bank governor from outside the United States and Europe.
Shin was appointed to lead the Committee on Payment and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) under the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) following consultations among member central banks at the BIS Global Economy Meeting, the BOK said Tuesday.
His three-year term began on November 1, succeeding Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta, who had chaired the committee since 2023.
The CPMI is a global standard-setting body responsible for strengthening the safety and efficiency of payment, clearing and settlement systems. Its work shapes international rules governing financial market infrastructure, including securities exchanges, central securities depositories and payment systems.
The committee jointly developed the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI) with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) in 2012, establishing 24 principles for managing risks across financial market infrastructure.
The CPMI currently brings together 28 major central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England. The BOK has been a member since July 2009.
The committee has increasingly focused on emerging challenges involving digital payments, tokenization, stablecoins and financial infrastructure resilience.
Shin previously served as economic adviser and head of research at the BIS, where he helped advance the concept of a unified ledger — a common platform for tokenized money and financial assets — as a framework for next-generation financial systems.
The BOK said Shin's appointment reflected his international standing and the central bank's growing expertise in digital payments and tokenization.
It expects the appointment to strengthen its role in shaping international payment standards and deepen cooperation with major central banks, while drawing greater international attention to its payment-system innovation projects.
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