These files were maintained by Fred D. Levy, Senior Adviser, Economic Advisory Staff (EAS) while representing the Bank as an observer to the Berne Union and coordinating meetings of Berne Union representatives at the Bank. The International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers (Berne Union) was formed in 1934 with members from France, Italy, Spain the United Kingdom. By 1988 the number of members had increased to over 30. Its purpose was to foster international acceptance of sound principles of export credit insurance; to establish and maintain discipline in terms of credit for international trade; to maintain sound principles of foreign investment insurance; to encourage a favorable investment climate; and to exchange information, assistance, expertise, and advice in relation to the commercial and political risks associated with export credit and investment insurance.
- At the beginning of the series are memoranda, telex messages, draft and final schedules of country reviews, and Levy's detailed handwritten notes taken at meetings between the Bank and representatives of the Berne Union [International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers] visiting with the Bank and the IMF, respectively, on November 2 and 3, 1987. These are followed by files containing Levy's reports to Moeen Quereshi, Senior Vice President, Operations of Berne Union Annual General Meetings and meetings of the Berne Union Export Credit Insurance Committee and Investment Insurance Committee from 1988 to 1990 at which he represented the Bank as an observer. The extensive reports cover discussions of countries under review at those meetings and are filed with Levy's handwritten notes taken during the meetings.
The files containing Levy's 1988-1990 Berne Union meeting reports also include draft and printed meeting agendas and lists of participants, copies of papers discussed at the meetings, and copies of formal meeting minutes provided by the Berne Union Secretariat. A file titled Berne Union Meeting briefing book contains handwritten notes arranged by country that appear to have been prepared by Levy in 1989 during briefings given by Regional Office staff. The name of the staff member giving the country briefing and the date are usually included in the notes. Printed statistical information, Country briefs, and correspondence are included for some countries.
Also part of the series is a Back-to-Office Report prepared for the files by Vinod Dubey, Director, EAS of a meeting of the Export Credit Group of OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] in Paris on June 13, 1989 at which he participated in a discussion of Export Credit cover for countries with payment difficulties. Copies of meeting papers and a list of meeting participants accompany the report. A copy of the report to the Director, EAS, of the 1987 Annual General Meeting of Berne Union prepared by Jeffrey Katz, Resource Mobilization Department (FRM), who represented the Bank as an observer, is also in the series.
