Deutsche Bundesbank
The Deutsche Bundesbank is the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was established in 1957 as the sole successor to the two-tier central bank system which comprised the Bank deutscher Länder and the Land Central Banks. At the time, the Land Central Banks were legally independent bodies. Together, the institutions in the central bank system bore responsibility for the German currency from 20 June 1948, when the Deutsche Mark was introduced, until the Deutsche Bundesbank was founded.
The Regional Offices of the Deutsche Bundesbank (formerly known as Land Central Banks) are now responsible for the Bundesbank's functions in one or more of Germany's federal states. The Bundesbank's headquarters is in Frankfurt am Main, where some 3,909 of the Bundesbank's total staff of nearly 12,774 are employed (31 December 2005).
As a result of the Bundesbank's becoming part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), the need to restructure became increasingly evident. The Bundesbank's organisational structure was changed by means of the Seventh Act Amending the Bundesbank Act, which came into effect on 30 April 2002. The Bundesbank's decision-making body is the Executive Board. It comprises the President, the Vice-President and six other members. Its mandate is to govern and manage the Bundesbank.
The Board has prepared an organisational statute to establish how responsibilities are shared out among the Board members and to determine the tasks which may be delegated to the Regional Offices. The members of the Board are all appointed by the President of the Federal Republic. The President, the Vice-President and two other members are nominated by the German Federal Government and the other four members are nominated by the Bundesrat (the upper house of Parliament) in agreement with the Federal Government.
The Bundesbank consists of its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and nine Regional Offices. These Regional Offices are located in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Hanover, Leipzig, Mainz, Munich and Stuttgart. Subordinated to the Regional Offices are 61 branches located in the larger towns in Germany. They carry out the Bundesbank's business with the credit institutions and the public authorities in their respective areas. Each Regional Office is headed by a President, who is subject to the authority of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank.
