In addition, the twelve Federal Reserve District Bank presidents are not political appointees but are selected by their respective bank's board to "provide a cross-section of interests within the region."" Their appointment is subject to final approval by the Board of Governors. The Fed also has a monetary policy decision-making unit, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), made up of the seven Board Members, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and four of the other eleven Reserve Bank presidents who serve at the FOMC on a one-year rotational basis. The primary responsibility of the Board members is the formulation of monetary policy. The seven Board members constitute a majority of the 12-member Federal Open Market Committee, the group that makes the key decisions affecting the cost and availability of money and credit in the economy. .
The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) is composed of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks (NCBs) of all 15 EU Member States. The "Eurosystem" is the term used to refer to the ECB and the NCBs of the Member States, which have adopted the euro. The NCBs of the Member States which do not participate in the euro area, however, are members of the ESCB with a special status - while they are allowed to conduct their respective national monetary policies, they do not take part in the decision-making with regard to the single monetary policy for the euro area and the implementation of such decisions. In accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community and the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, the primary objective of the Eurosystem is to maintain price stability. Without prejudice to this objective, the Eurosystem will support the general economic policies in the Community and act in accordance with the principles of an open market economy.
