Bank of Finland

The Bank of Finland (Finnish: Suomen Pankki, Swedish: Finlands Bank) is the central bank of Finland. It is the fourth oldest central bank in the world.[2]

Bank of Finland
Suomen Pankki (in Finnish)
Finlands Bank (in Swedish)

The Bank of Finland, Helsinki.

Logo
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 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 Imperial ruble.[3] The Bank created and regulated the Finnish Markka from its inauguration in 1860 until Finland adopted the euro in 1999.[3]

Functions and ownership

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]

Organisation

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

Governors of the Bank of Finland

The Bank of Finland, Helsinki, with the statue of Johan Vilhelm Snellman by sculptor Emil Wikström in front

Source: [7]

Chairmen of the Parliamentary Supervisory Council

See also

References

  1. https://d-nb.info/1138787981/34
  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 Archived 13 September 2017 at the Wayback MachineImperial ordinance by Alexander I of Russia, 20 November 1811 (in Russian)
  5. Bank of Finland. "Eurosystem and ESCB". Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  6. "Suomen Pankin organisaatio". Bank of Finland. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  7. "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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