The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for the countries that participate in the European Monetary Union—the euro area.

a. The Euro system is composed of three distinct parts:

i. The national central banks (NCBs) provide services to the banks and governments in their countries.

ii. The European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, with its six-member Executive Board, oversees the monetary system.

iii. The Governing Council makes monetary policy decisions.

b. The ECB’s primary objective is to stabilize prices in the common currency area.

c. The ECB’s success in meeting its monetary policy objectives is aided by the timely announcement of policy decisions, press conferences in which top ECB officials respond to questions, published accounts of meetings, and the release of twice-yearly forecasts.

d. The ECB also is the leading supervisor of euro-area banks, directly supervising the region’s largest banks.