[10] For an overview of the recent evolution in the ECB’s accountability practices, see Fraccaroli, N., Giovannini, A. and Jamet, J. F. (2018), “The evolution of the ECB’s accountability practices during the crisis”, Economic Bulletin, Issue 5, ECB.
The rapid integration of the euro area’s money market was also supported by the developments in the payment systems infrastructure, above all the establishment of the TARGET system operated by the ESCB, which links the national real-time gross settlement systems with the ECB’s Payment Mechanism. The smooth functioning of the settlement of cross-border payments allows banks to trade safely throughout the euro area.