Mexico's central bank governor to step down to lead Bank of International Settlements

Bank of Mexico Governor Agustin Carstens announced his resignation on Thursday after being elected head of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) in Switzerland.

Carstens, who has been central bank governor since December 2009, would step down in July 2017, said the Bank of Mexico in a press release.

"In October 2017, when Carstens begins his new role, it will mark the first time that a central banker from a developing economy, like Mexico, will occupy this high position," said the press release.

Carstens will replace Spain's Jaime Caruana as the leader of BIS after being nominated by a committee made up of central bank governors of Britain, Japan, France, Italy and the United States.

Carstens presented his resignation to President Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday after BIS informed him that he has been elected as its new general manager for a five-year term.

Carstens has sailed through difficult times recently as uncertainty about the future of U.S.-Mexico relations put pressure on the peso, which fell to an all-time low against the dollar in November, as a result of Donald Trump's election as U.S. president.

BIS is seen as the "bank of banks" as it groups central banks of 60 countries, which represent around 95 percent of global gross domestic product. Endi