##em because when it was drafted it was assumed that all the eu member states would adopt the euro. the escb is made up of the ecb and the ncbs of all the eu member states, whether or not they have adopted the euro. the eurosystem and the escb will continue to coexist as long as there are eu members states that do not belong to the euro area. their nature and functioning is governed by the tfeu, the statute of the escb and the internal regulations ( of the ecb, executive board, general council and supervisory board ). decision - making body, of which the governors, presidents or chairmen of all the eu central banks are members with advisory and coordination competences in relation to the escb. finally, the supervisory board is an internal ecb body responsible for planning and carrying out the ecb ’ s tasks in relation to the prudential supervision of credit institutions ( see part 2 of this annex ). 1. 2 the executive board of the ecb the executive board of the ecb is the decision - making body responsible for managing the day - to - day business of the ecb and implementing the policies of the eurosystem. the executive board usually meets once a week and more frequently if necessary. formally, decisions are adopted by simple majority, although in practice, as in the case of the governing council, the executive board acts as a collegiate body and seeks consensus. among other tasks it is responsible for : i ) preparing the meetings of the governing council, presenting the proposed decisions, and ii ) implementing the monetary policy in accordance with the guidelines specified and decisions taken by the governing council, giving the necessary instructions to the euro area ncbs. it is composed of the president of the ecb, the vice - president and four other members selected from among persons of recognised standing and professional experience in monetary or banking matters. the members of the executive board are appointed, by qualified majority, by the heads of state or government of the euro area countries, on a recommendation from the council of the european union, after it has consulted the european parliament and the governing council of the ecb. the term of office of the members of the executive board is eight years and cannot be renewed. as a member of the executive board, the ecb president occupies a prominent position and exercises exclusively certain reserved functions and, if absent, these functions are performed by the vice - president : chairing meetings of the governing council, the

the crisis first, let us look at the indicator reflecting credit developments. for the first time since the global financial crisis, the volume of bank lending to the resident private sector in spain increased in 2020 ( by 3. 5 % ). total new lending to the resident private sector in 2020 was up 5. 6 % on 2019, although there were contrasting performances for non - financial corporations and sole proprietors ( rising 6. 6 % ) and households ( down 5. 6 % ). 1 these developments were heavily influenced by the credit support programmes, particularly the ico guarantee programme. indeed, the volume of credit drawn in transactions linked to the ico guarantee facilities represented 18 % of total new lending granted by deposit institutions in spain in 2020 and 34 % of new lending extended to nonfinancial corporations and sole proprietors. also notable is the role played by the macro - and microprudential measures. on the evidence available, the authorities ’ recommendation to limit dividend distribution appears to have had a positive impact on credit ( see martinez - miera and vegas ( 2021 ) for an analysis of spain and hardy ( 2021 ) for an international comparison ). similarly, there is also preliminary evidence that those banks which started out with stronger solvency positions have been able to increase credit to a greater degree during the crisis. and, of course, the european central bank ’ s forceful monetary policy response has been essential in guaranteeing favourable financial conditions for all economic agents during the pandemic. in terms of the stock of lending, bank loans to non - financial corporations grew 9 % year - on - year in december 2020, whereas lending to households declined by - 0. 5 %. second, the adverse effects of the pandemic on economic activity have not, to date, translated into a higher volume of non - performing loans ( npls ). npls to the resident private sector continued to decrease, albeit to a lesser extent than in previous years. in 2020, the stock of npls fell by 3. 8 % year - on - year ( down 4 % in march 2021 ), compared with steep declines in 2019 ( - 19. 1 % ) and 2018 ( - 29. 1 % ). the npl ratio also continued to decrease, again more moderately than in recent years, to stand at 4. 4 % in december 2020 ( the same rate as in march 2021 ), down 0. 4 percentage points ( pp ) on the previous year. the public support measures for firms