The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central component of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's most important central banks with a balance sheet total of around 7 trillion.
The Deutsche Bundesbank is the German member of the Eurosystem and has been the monetary authority for Germany from 1957 to 1998, issuing the Deutsche Mark (DM). It succeeded the Bank deutscher Länder, which had introduced the DM on 20 June 1948.
Vítor Manuel Ribeiro Constâncio is a Portuguese economist and academic who most recently served as Vice President of the European Central Bank, from 2010 to 2018. He previously served as Minister of Finance in 1978 and Governor of the Bank of Portugal from 1985 to 1986 and from 2000 to 2010.
Ewald Nowotny is an Austrian economist and social democratic politician and former governor of Austria's central bank Oesterreichische Nationalbank. He was also a member of the European Central Bank’s governing council.
Axel Alfred Weber is a German economist, professor, and banker. He is currently a board member and chairman of Swiss investment bank and financial services company, UBS Group AG, and has announced his resignation effective 7 April 2022.
Hans Tietmeyer was a German economist and regarded as one of the foremost experts on international financial matters. He was president of Deutsche Bundesbank from 1993 until 1999 and remained afterwards one of the most important figures in finance of the European Union.
Otmar Issing is a German economist who served as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2006 and concurrently as ECB chief economist. He developed the 'two-pillar' approach to monetary policy decision-making that the ECB has adopted. After leaving the executive board, Issing been serving as president of the Center for Financial Studies since 2006.
Jürgen Stark is a German economist who served as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 2006 to 2011 and concurrently as ECB chief economist. Within the Executive Board, he was responsible for Economics and for Monetary Analysis and resigned before expiration of his term in opposition to ECB's bond-buying programme.
Peter Bofinger is a German economist and a former member of the German Council of Economic Experts.
Jens Weidmann is a German economist who served as president of the Deutsche Bundesbank between 2011 and 2021. He also served as chairman of the Board of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
The European System of Financial Supervision (ESFS) is the framework for financial supervision in the European Union that has been in operation since 2011. The system consists of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), the European Systemic Risk Board, the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities, and the national supervisory authorities of EU member states. It was proposed by the European Commission in 2009 in response to the financial crisis of 2007–08.
The European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) is a group established on 16 December 2010 in response to the financial crisis. It is tasked with the macro-prudential oversight of the financial system within the European Union in order to contribute to the prevention or mitigation of systemic risks to financial stability in the EU. It shall contribute to the smooth functioning of the internal market and thereby ensure a sustainable contribution of the financial sector to economic growth.
Jörg Asmussen is a German economist and banker has been serving as Chief Executive Officer of the German Insurance Association (GDV) since 2020.
Andrea Enria an Italian economist who served as Chair of the ECB Supervisory Board from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as the chairperson of the European Banking Authority (EBA) between 2011 and 2019.
Benoît Georges Cœuré is a French economist who has been serving as President of the Autorité de la concurence since 2022. He previously served as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 2012 to 2019.
European Banking Supervision, also known as the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), is the policy framework for the prudential supervision of banks in the euro area. It is centered on the European Central Bank (ECB), whose supervisory arm is referred to as ECB Banking Supervision. EU member states outside of the euro area can also participate on a voluntary basis, as was the case of Bulgaria as of late 2023. European Banking Supervision was established by Regulation 1024/2013 of the Council, also known as the SSM Regulation, which also created its central decision-making body, the ECB Supervisory Board.
Sabine Lautenschläger is a German jurist who served as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 2014 to 2019. She previously served as vice-president of the Deutsche Bundesbank from 2011 to 2013.
Isabel Schnabel is a German economist who has been serving as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank since 2020.
Joachim Nagel is a German economist who has been serving as President of the Bundesbank since 2022. Before he was a senior manager of the Bank for International Settlements since 2020, having been a member of the board of the Deutsche Bundesbank from 2010 to 2016 and then a member of the board of the KfW Bankengruppe from 2017 to 2020. He was appointed President of the Deutsche Bundesbank on 1 January 2022, to replace Jens Weidmann. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), along with the President who appointed him to serve initially under SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank is the main operational decision-making body within the European Central Bank on bank supervision matters, within the framework of European Banking Supervision. It meets twice a month to discuss, plan and carry out the ECB's supervisory tasks. It is not, however, the ultimate decision-making body, as it only prepares draft decisions for the Governing Council under a no-objection procedure.
