European Central Bank.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Central_Bank

The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for the euro and administers the monetary policy of the Eurozone, which consists of 18 EU member states and is one of the largest currency areas in the world. It is one of the world's most important central banks and is one of the seven institutions of the European Union(EU) listed in the Treaty on European Union (TEU). The capital stock of the bank is owned by the central banks of all 28 EU member states.The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. As of 2011 the President of the ECB is Mario Draghi, former governor of the Bank of Italy. The bank is based in Frankfurt and its location in the city is fixed by the Treaty of Amsterdam. The bank currently occupies the Eurotower while new headquarters are built. The owners and shareholders of the European Central Bank are the central banks of the 28 member states of the EU.

The primary objective of the European Central Bank, as mandated in Article 2 of the Statute of the ECB,is to maintain price stability within the Eurozone. The basic tasks, as defined in Article 3 of the Statute, are to define and implement the monetary policy for the Eurozone, to conduct foreign exchange operations, to take care of the foreign reserves of the European System of Central Banks and operation of the financial market infrastructure under the TARGET2 payments system and the technical platform (currently being developed) for settlement of securities in Europe (TARGET2 Securities). The ECB has, under Article 16 of its Statute,the exclusive right to authorise the issuance of euro banknotes. Member states can issue euro coins, but the amount must be authorised by the ECB beforehand (upon the introduction of the euro, the ECB also had exclusive right to issue coins).

The ECB is governed by European law directly, but its set-up resembles that of a corporation in the sense that the ECB has shareholders and stock capital.

European Central Bank headquarters (Eurotower)