Eastern European and Soviet Department: Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA, Comecon): Financial Institutions

A file containing documents relating to the two financial institutions of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance: the International Bank for Economic Cooperation (I.B.E.C.) and the International Investment Bank (I.I.B.). The principal subject covered in the file is the legal status of the two banks under English law. Aspects of this subject discussed include the involvement of the Bank of England; opinions sought from expert lawyers; efforts by the two banks to obtain loans from London-based banking groups; the question of whether the banks could be sued in English courts; and the resolution of the matter by an exchange of letters between the deputy governor of the Bank of England, Jasper Hollom, and the Foreign Office minister Frank Judd. Documents in the file include minutes of a meeting between Foreign Office and Bank of England officials and lawyers; and a translation of the I.B.E.C. statutes.