The Bank of Finland ( fi, Suomen Pankki, sv, Finlands Bank) is the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central b ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It views itself as the fourth oldest surviving central bank in the world, after Sweden's

Riksbank Sveriges Riksbank, or simply the ''Riksbank'', is the central bank of Sweden. It is the world's oldest central bank and the fourth oldest bank in operation. Etymology The first part of the word ''riksbank'', ''riks'', stems from the Swedish ...

, the Bank of England, and the Bank of France.

History

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 The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecess ...

), was established on 1 March 1812 in the city of

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...

. In 1819 it was relocated to

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. Until 1840 the main purpose of the bank was to carry out currency reform to introduce Imperial ruble. The Bank created and regulated the Finnish Markka from its inauguration in 1860 until Finland adopted the euro in 1999.

Mandate, ownership and organization

The Bank of Finland is Finland's central bank and a member of the

European System of Central Banks The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) is an institution that comprises the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks (NCBs) of all 27 member states of the European Union (EU). Its objective is to ensure price stability t ...

and of the

Eurosystem The Eurosystem is the monetary authority of the eurozone, the collective of European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their sole official currency. The European Central Bank (ECB) has, under Article 16 of its Statute,

. 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 Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and governed by the

Finnish Parliament The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

, 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 Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

, and Oulu. The bank has a staff of about 380 persons. The highest official in the bank is the Governor (currently

Olli Rehn Olli Ilmari Rehn (; born 31 March 1962) is a Finnish economist and public official who has been serving as governor of the Bank of Finland since 2018. A member of the Centre Party, he previously served as the European Commissioner for Enlargem ...

) who also chairs the board. Members of the Board in August 2018 were

(Governor), Marja Nykänen (Deputy Governor) and Tuomas Välimäki.

BOFIT

is an internal

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

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 or research in bilateral innish-Russiantrade. 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". Since 2009, BOFIT has been led by , who joined it in 1995.

Governors of the Bank of Finland

* Claes Johan Sacklén 1812–1816 * Carl Johan Idman 1817–1820 *

Otto Herman Lode Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded f ...

1820–1827 * Johan Gustaf Winter 1827–1841 * Carl Wilhelm Trapp 1841–1853 * Axel Ludvig Born 1853–1856 *

Alex Federley Alexander (Alex) Thiodolf Federley (12 July 1864, in Turku – 17 November 1932, in Helsinki) was a Swedish-Finnish graphic artist who created political cartoons, posters, book illustrations and postcards. His works are generally signed AFley. B ...

1853–1854 * Robert Trapp 1854–1856 * Frans Ivar Edelheim 1856–1858 * Wilhelm Blidberg 1858–1861 * Carl Isak Björkman 1862–1866 * Victor von Haartman 1866–1870 * August Florin 1870–1875 * Gustaf Samuel von Troil 1875–1884 * Alfred Charpentier 1884–1897 * Theodor Wegelius 1898–1906 * Clas Herman von Collan 1907–1918 * Otto Stenroth 1918–1923 * August Ramsay 1923–1924 *

Risto Ryti Risto Heikki Ryti (; 3 February 1889 – 25 October 1956) served as the fifth president of Finland from 1940 to 1944. Ryti started his career as a politician in the field of economics and as a political background figure during the interwar perio ...

1923–1940 * Johan Wilhelm Rangell 1943–1944 *

1944–1945 *

Sakari Tuomioja Sakari Severi Tuomioja (29 August 1911 Tampere – 9 September 1964 Helsinki) was a Finnish politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Finland between 1953–1954 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1951–1952 and as the ...

1945–1955 *

Rainer von Fieandt Berndt Rainer von Fieandt (26 December 1890 – 28 April 1972) was a Finnish banker and official without party affiliation. He was appointed as the Governor of the Bank of Finland in 1955 before being appointed by the President to form a cabinet ...

1955–1957 * Klaus Waris 1957–1967 *

Mauno Koivisto Mauno Henrik Koivisto (; 25 November 1923 – 12 May 2017) was a Finnish politician who served as the ninth president of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as the country's prime minister twice, from 1968 to 1970 and again from 1979 to 1 ...

1968–1982 *

Ahti Karjalainen Ahti Kalle Samuli Karjalainen (10 February 1923 – 7 September 1990) was a Finnish politician. He was a member of the Agrarian League (later known as Keskusta, Centre Party) and served two terms as Prime Minister of Finland. He is, however, be ...

1982–1983 * Rolf Kullberg 1983–1992 *

Sirkka Hämäläinen Sirkka Aune-Marjatta Hämäläinen (born 8 May 1939 in Riihimäki) is a Finnish economist who served as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2003. She previously served as the Governor of the Bank of Finland ...

1992–1998 * Matti Vanhala 1998–2004 (retired early due to illness) *

Erkki Liikanen Erkki Antero Liikanen (born 19 September 1950) is a Finnish social democratic politician and a former Governor of the Bank of Finland. Early life and education Erkki Antero Liikanen obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Economic ...

2004–2018 *

2018– Source:

Chairmen of the Parliamentary Supervisory Council

* Antti Lindtman (2019–present) *

Matti Vanhanen Matti Taneli Vanhanen (; born 4 November 1955) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010. He was also Chairman of the Centre Party and President of the European Council in 2006. In his earlier career, he ...

(2015–2019) *

Ben Zyskowicz Ben Berl Zyskowicz (born 24 May 1954) is a Finnish politician and member of parliament. Zyskowicz was chairman of the Finnish National Coalition Party's (Finnish: Kansallinen Kokoomus) parliamentary group from 1993 to 2006, and has been a member o ...

(2011–2015) * Timo Kalli (2008–2011) *

Seppo Kääriäinen Seppo Arimo Kääriäinen (born 29 March 1948 in Iisalmen maalaiskunta) is a Finnish politician of the Centre Party and Doctor in Social Sciences. He served as the Minister of Defence of Finland between from 24 June 2003 to 19 April 2007. He ...

(2007–2008) * Mari Kiviniemi (2006–2007) * Olavi Ala-Nissilä (2003–2006) * Mauri Pekkarinen (2003) *

Ilkka Kanerva Ilkka Armas Mikael Kanerva (28 January 1948 – 14 April 2022) was a Finnish politician and a member of the Parliament of Finland. He was born in Lokalahti, now a part of Uusikaupunki in Southwest Finland. He was the Minister for Foreign Affairs ...

(1995–2003) * Sauli Niinistö (1995) * Pentti Mäki-Hakola (1991–1995) * Erkki Pystynen (1990–1991) * Mauri Miettinen (1987–1990) * Matti Jaatinen (1979–1987) *

Harri Holkeri Harri Hermanni Holkeri (; 6 January 1937 – 7 August 2011) was a Finnish statesman representing the National Coalition Party of Finland (Kokoomus / Samlingspartiet). He was the Prime Minister of Finland 1987–1991, president of the UN Gen ...

(1971–1979) * Juha Rihtniemi (−1971) * Veikko Kokkola *

Juho Niukkanen Juho Niukkanen (27 July 1888 in Kirvu – 17 May 1954 in Helsinki) was a Finnish politician prior to, during, and after the Winter War. He was a member of parliament from 1916 to 1933 and again from 1936 to 1954, and represented the Agrarian Par ...

Erik von Frenckell Erik von Frenckell (18 November 1887 – 13 September 1977) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish nobleman, member of the Parliament of Finland, member of the International Olympic Committee and a vice president of the International Football Associati ...

References

External links

*
Bank of Finland official site

Postage stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Bank of Finland
1811–1961
All the Finnish BIC-codes and an IBAN counter for all Finnish banks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bank of Finland Banks of Finland Suomen

Banks established in 1812 1812 establishments in Finland Kruununhaka