On 26 June 1974, several banks had released payment of Deutsche Marks (DEM – German Currency at that time) to Herstatt ( Based out of Cologne, Germany) in Frankfurt in exchange for US Dollars (USD) that was to be delivered in New York. Because of time-zone differences, Herstatt ceased operations between the times of the respective payments. German regulators forced the troubled Bank Herstatt into liquidation. The counterparty banks did not receive their USD payments. Responding to the cross-jurisdictional implications of the Herstatt debacle, the G-10 countries, Spain and Luxembourg, formed a standing committee in 1974 under the auspices of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), called the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Since BIS is headquartered in Basel, this committee got its name from there. The committee comprises representatives from central banks and regulatory authorities.