International Bank for Economic Cooperation (IBEC), the bank of the socialist community of countries, whose aim is to promote the development and extension of the international socialist division of labour, the further expansion and consolidation of economic cooperation, the perfectioning of the system of handling settlements of the socialist countries and the expansion of their economic ties with other countries. It is founded on the Agreement on Multilateral Settlements in transferable roubles and began operating on January 1, 1964. Its members are Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, the GDR, Hungary, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, the USSR and Vietnam. A Council 174 consisting of representatives of the Bank’s member countries is the highest body of the IBEC. The Board is its executive body. Every country has one vote regardless of what it has contributed to its original capital of 300 million transferable roubles. Share payments of the Bank’s member countries are established on the basis of the volume of exports in their mutual trade. Payments are made in transferable roubles, convertible currency and gold. The IBEC performs the following functions: it handles multilateral settlements in transferable roubles, credits foreign trade and other operations of the Bank’s members; draws and holds free means in transferable roubles, gold, convertible and other currency of the Bank’s members and other countries, engages in other operations with gold, convertible and other currency, and performs bank operations that correspond to the Bank’s aims and tasks, ensuing from its Rules. The Bank’s activity is based on complete equality of and respect for the sovereignty of its members. Credits granted by the Bank are planned, target-oriented, repayable and paid in character. The IBEC grants credits of two kinds in transferable roubles—short-term credits and long-term credits. The latter is provided to cover the requirements in means, for a longer term (1-3 years), for development of international specialisation and cooperation, trade expansion, levelling out trade balance, for seasonal needs, etc. The IBEC performs settlement operations of financing capital investment and crediting the jointly built national economic units. For granted credits in transferable roubles, the Bank charges interest set by the Council.