The ICC was founded in 1919 under the leadership of its first president Etienne Clementel, a former French Minister of Commerce. Since that time the international secretariat of the organization has been located in Paris, France.
The primary objective of the ICC is to facilitate the flow of international trade. There are three main activities for which the ICC is recognised:
Over the years, the ICC Banking Commission has become a leading global rule-making body for the banking industry, not only producing universally accepted rules and guidelines for international banking practice, but also providing leading edge research and analysis.
With over 600 members in more than 100 countries, many of them emerging, the Banking Commission is one of the largest worldwide groupings of trade finance experts.
The Banking Commission produces universally accepted rules and guidelines for international banking practice. It is certainly a strong argument that the ICC rules and guidelines on documentary credits, current version UCP 600, are the most successful privately drafted rules for trade ever developed.
Members of the Banking Commission are chosen by ICC national committees, which select members from their countries to serve first on their local Banking Committee and then to represent the national committee at the plenary commission meetings. These meetings are generally held twice a year.
The Executive Committee comprises of Officers and Technical Advisors, each supervising a specific line of service.
The Banking Commission has identified five work areas that are key to its membership. These include Traditional Trade Services, Open Account and Supply Chain Financing, Global Regulation, Legal and Compliance Issues, Risk and Asset Management.