Bank of Finland

The Bank of Finland (Finnish: Suomen Pankki, Swedish: Finlands Bank) is the central bank of Finland and a member of the European System of Central Banks. It views itself as the fourth oldest surviving central bank in the world, after Sweden's Riksbank, the Bank of England, and the Bank of France.[2] Until 1999, the national central bank was responsible for the former Finnish currency, the markka. Finland adopted the euro on 1 January 1999; markka coins and banknotes continued in use (as denominations of the euro) until 31 December 2001.

Bank of Finland
Suomen Pankki (in Finnish)
Finlands Bank (in Swedish)
HeadquartersHelsinki
Established1 March 1812
Ownership100% state ownership[1]
GovernorOlli Rehn
Central bank ofFinland
Reserves6 230 million USD[1]
Succeeded byEuropean Central Bank (1999)1
Websitewww.bof.fi
1 The Bank of Finland still exists but many functions have been taken over by the ECB.

History
Bank of Finland strong box which moved to Helsinki with the bank when it relocated from Turku

The precursor of Bank of Finland, Waihetus-, Laina- ja Depositioni-Contori Suomen Suuren-ruhtinaanmaassa (The Exchange, Loan and Deposit Office of the Grand Duchy of Finland), was established on 1 March 1812 in the city of Turku by Alexander I of Russia.[3][4] In 1819 it was relocated to Helsinki. Until 1840 the main purpose of the bank was to carry out currency reform to introduce the imperial ruble.[3] The Bank created and regulated the Finnish markka from its inauguration in 1860 until Finland adopted the euro in 1999.[3]

Mandate, ownership and organization

The Bank of Finland is Finland's central bank and a member of the European System of Central Banks and of the Eurosystem.[5] It is Finland's monetary authority, and is responsible for the country's currency supply and foreign exchange reserves.

The Bank of Finland is owned by the Republic of Finland, and governed by the Finnish Parliament through the Parliamentary Supervisory Council and the Board of the bank. The Board is responsible for the administration of the bank, and the Parliamentary Supervisory Council for supervising the administration and activities of the bank and for other statutory tasks. The bank is governed under the provisions of the Act on the Bank of Finland, passed in 1998.

The bank has branch offices in Kuopio, Tampere, and Oulu. The bank has a staff of about 380 persons.[6]

The highest official in the bank is the Governor who also chairs the board. Members of the Board in August 2018 were Olli Rehn (Governor), Marja Nykänen (Deputy Governor) and Tuomas Välimäki.[6]

BOFIT

BOFIT is an internal think tank of the Bank of Finland, which has historically been driven by the imperative for Finland to gain a granular understanding of the economic situation of Russia. It was created in 1991 and drives its name from the Finnish name of the department from which it originated, namely BOF for Bank of Finland and IT for idäntutkimus or research in bilateral [Finnish-Russian] trade. The full name has changed over the years, until 2021 as "Bank of Finland Institute for Economies in Transition" and since November 2021 as "Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies".[7] Since 2009, BOFIT has been led by Iikka Korhonen, who joined it in 1995.

Governors of the Bank of Finland
The Bank of Finland's head office in Helsinki
The Bank of Finland, Helsinki, with the statue of Johan Vilhelm Snellman by sculptor Emil Wikström in front

Source: [8]

Chairmen of the Parliamentary Supervisory Council

See also

References
  1. Weidner, Jan (2017). "The Organisation and Structure of Central Banks" (PDF). Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.
  2. "History". Bank of Finland. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  3. Holtfrerich, Carl-L.; Reis, Jaime (5 December 2016). The Emergence of Modern Central Banking from 1918 to the Present. Routledge. ISBN 9781351890779 – via Google Books.
  4. "Wäxel- Låne och Depositions-Contoiret i Stor-Furstendömet Finland" [Exchange, Loan and Deposit Office in the Grand Duchy of Finland]. histdoc.net (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. – Imperial ordinance by Alexander I of Russia, 20 November 1811 (in Russian)
  5. "Eurosystem and ESCB". Bank of Finland. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  6. "Organisaatio" [Organization]. Bank of Finland (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  7. Olli Rehn (9 November 2021). "Remarks - Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies' (BOFIT) 30th Anniversary Dinner" (PDF). Bank for International Settlements.
  8. "Board Members in the history of the Bank of Finland". Bank of Finland. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
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