The German Central Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank)

the European Central Bank
The German Central Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank) is the central
bank of Germany. Its central offce is in Frankfurt/Main. It has
nine regional offces (Hauptverwaltungen, formerly known as
State Central Banks, Landeszentralbanken) located in Berlin,
Duesseldorf, Frankfurt/Main, Hamburg, Hanover, Leipzig, Mainz,
Munich, Stuttgart.

The duties of the German Central Bank include country-specifc
tasks within the framework of European monetary policy, such
as joint decision-making and the implementation of a common
European monetary policy, and the management of currency re-
serves. The German Central Bank is also involved in monitoring
banks and fnancial services institutions and is a member of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International Clearing
Bank.

The European Central Bank (ECB) was established in June 1998
and is located in Frankfurt/Main. Under the European Treaty, the
European System of Central Banks (ESCB) consists of the ECB
and the national central banks of the EU Member States. The
key tasks of the ECB are to issue banknotes within the eurozone
and to formulate monetary policy for the eurozone – in particular
to determine the prime interest rate.
The ECB is independent not only of the governments of the EU
Member States, but also of the national central banks in the euro
system.

Furthermore, the ECB has its own budget and is thus
financially independent.