28(1) and 28(3) of the Statute) and alternative methods for measuring monetary income (Art. 32(3)). Lastly, very few decisions are taken unanimously; they require the attendance of all members at the meeting. The Recommendation of the ECB addressed to the European Council for the amendment of Art. 10(2) of the Statute (assignment of voting rights and rotation system in the Governing Council of the ECB) was adopted unanimously. 3  General Council can be regarded as a “transitional body” which will continue to exist while there are EU Member States which have not adopted the euro. Its functions include the monitoring of progress achieved in convergence by EU Member States which have not yet adopted the euro, advice on the necessary preparations for irrevocably fixing their exchange rates, supervising the operation of Exchange Rate Mechanism II, acting as a forum for the coordination of EU exchange rate and monetary policies, and assisting with certain activities, such as the advisory functions of the ECB. 2 Single Supervisory Mechanism: distribution of responsibilities between the ECB and the national competent authorities and decision-making processes As from 4 November 2014, the prudential supervision of credit institutions in euro area countries was transferred to the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), which other EU countries that have not yet adopted the euro may also join.5 This mechanism is structured as an integrated system, led by the ECB and involving the national competent authorities (NCAs), i.e. the supervisors of the participating countries.
In this connection, the Governing Council of the Banco de España currently comprises, aside from the Deputy Governor and myself, six elected members and two ex officio members. The latter sit on the council by virtue of their position, namely: the Vice-Chair of the CNMV and the General Secretary of the Treasury and International Financing.11 It has traditionally been argued that the ex officio members allow for enhanced coordination across the country’s various economic and financial authorities. However, such coordination was boosted recently via the creation in 2019 of AMCESFI, the new macroprudential authority, in which the three sectoral supervisors and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation participate. Against this background, and in the interest of increasing the institution’s independence, it might be desirable for the ex officio members to attend the meetings of the Governing Council of the Banco de España in a non-voting capacity, and for the Banco de España representative at the CNMV to do likewise. 5 Financial supervision arrangements in Spain I would also like to underscore that, precisely after redressing a significant shortcoming detected in the Spanish financial supervisory system by creating a Spanish macroprudential authority, I believe that it is now time to start reflecting deeply on the financial supervisory model existing in Spain.12 This would serve to align it with international best practices and adapt it to the challenges we currently face.