The first meeting of the Financial Stability Forum created by the G7 Ministers and Governors at their meeting in Bonn on 22 February 1999, will be held at the IMF in Washington on 14 April.

The Forum has been established to promote information exchange and co-ordination among the national authorities, international institutions and international regulatory or experts' groupings with responsibilities for questions of international financial stability. Its initial membership includes the finance ministries, central banks and leading regulators of each of the G7 countries, together with the chairs of the international regulatory organisations, and representatives of the international financial institutions.

Mr Hans Tietmeyer, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, will preside at the opening of the first meeting. Mr Andrew Crockett, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements, will chair the Forum.