Press room

The Banco de España since the introduction of the euro

• What role does the Banco de España play in defining the monetary policy of the euro area?

  The monetary policy of the euro area, which primarily aims to maintain price stability, is defined by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, a collegiate body in which the Governor of the Banco de España participates. In addition, the Banco de España, like the other national central banks of the euro area, implements this common monetary policy within its own country.

  Similarly, the Bank - through its involvement in the Eurosystem committees - helps to produce analytical and technical reports that are used as the basis for decisions taken by the Governing Council.

• Does the Banco de España retain the function of issuing banknotes and coins?

  Euro banknotes are issued by both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks that make up the Eurosystem, although actually putting this money into circulation is done exclusively by the latter.

  Euro coins are issued by Member States. The Banco de España is responsible for putting coins into circulation in Spain and carrying out other functions entrusted to it on behalf of the government, although the volume of coins issued each year is approved by the ECB.

• How is the Banco de España represented within the European System of Central Banks?

  The Governor of the Banco de España is a member of the principal decision-making body of the European Central Bank, the Governing Council, as well as the General Council, an advisory and coordinating body that also includes the governors of Member States of the European Union that are not part of the euro area.

  In addition, many technical experts and specialists from the Banco de España take part in the various committees and working groups of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), producing reports and proposals related to the implementation of the single monetary policy and the other functions entrusted to the ESCB.

• What is the difference between the European Central Bank, the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks?

  The European System of Central Banks (ESCB), established by the Treaty on European Union (TEU), is made up of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks of all Member States of the European Union (EU), regardless of whether or not they have adopted the euro.

  The Eurosystem, meanwhile, groups together the ECB and the national central banks of Member States that use the euro as their currency.
  This means that while there are still countries that retain their own national currencies, there will be a distinction between the Eurosystem and the ESCB.

• How is the euro priced against the dollar and other currencies? How can I find out the most recent exchange rate? Is it possible to find out the monthly averages or the historical figures for the last day of each month?

  The foreign exchange markets set the euro exchange rate against the dollar and other currencies. Official euro exchange rates are published daily on the Banco de España website ( Interest and exchange rates section), which also reports the daily changes for the past two months and the figures for the last day of each month. From this section it is also possible to access the European Central Bank to find out the exchange rates set by the ECB for the day in question after 15:00 on days when the market is open in Frankfurt.

  In addition, the website of the European Central Bank sets out the procedure for downloading a CSV file with information about the daily exchange rates. These figures refer to the columns corresponding to the table and also include monthly data, which can be used to precisely identify the currency they refer to.

  Historic exchange rate information showing monthly averages can also be found in table 20.1 del Boletín Estadístico (4,88 KB ) of the Banco de España. These figures are published at the end of the corresponding month, in other words at the beginning of the month following the one they relate to.