The European Central Bank and the eurosystem: An analysis of the missing central monetary institution in European Monetary Union

摘要

The Eurosystem is the fifth decentralized system in the history of central banks. It consists of the European Central Bank (ECB) and twelve National Central Banks (NCBs) forming the European Monetary Union (EMU). The stark decentrality of this System is so little known that ubiquitous statements by high level Euro experts on its supposed similarity with other decentralized systems, like the former Bundesbank System and the existing Federal Reserve System, are met with no protest. A closer look on European documents and the balance sheet of the ECB reveals, however, that the ECB u2013 far from being the monopoly supplier of central bank money u2013 cannot set the refinancing conditions to credit institutions in EMU. The latter are determined by the Council of Governors of the Eurosystem, while the main refinancing operations are executed by the NCBs leaving to the ECB the role of vicarious agent. The ECB can neither control all types of securities accepted for the NCBsu2019 credit operations nor is it able to act as lender of last resort. Yet, every possible manoeuvre to make the ECB look like a central bank of the NCBs is relentlessly employed, most obviously in the design of the Euro banknotes which are issued by the NCBs but carry only the imprint of the ECB, as well as by the ECBu2019s balance sheet as at 31 December 2002. The latter contains for the first time the item u201cbanknotes in circulationu201d that are, however, issued by the NCBs and only allocated to the ECB.