Banque de France

The Bank of France (French: Banque de France), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the French government, managing the accounts and the facilitation of payments for the Treasury and some public companies. On 1 January 1999, France adopted the euro and the Bank of France became a founder member of the Eurosystem. Until then, it has been responsible for the former national currency, the French franc. Today, it is an independent institution, and it has been a member of the Eurosystem of central banks since 1999. This consists of the European Central Bank (ECB), and the national central banks (NCBs) of all European Union (EU) members. Its three main missions, as defined by its statuses, are to drive the French monetary strategy, ensure financial stability and provide services to households, small and medium businesses and the French state.