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 centra ...

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 Bo ...

. 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 w ...

, the Bank of England, and the

Bank of France The Bank of France (French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the Fr ...

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 of Gra ...

. In 1819 it was relocated to

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. Until 1840 the main purpose of the bank was to carry out currency reform to introduce

Imperial ruble The ruble (American English) or rouble ( Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ' ...

. The Bank created and regulated the

Finnish Markka The markka ( fi, markka; sv, mark; sign: Mk; ISO code: FIM, typically known outside Finland as the Finnish mark) was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The mark was divided into 100 p ...

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 ...

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 Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclo ...

, and

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after ...

. 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 Enlargemen ...

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

(Governor),

Marja Nykänen Marja may refer to: * Marja (name), a Finnish and Dutch female given name * Marjah, Afghanistan, an unincorporated agricultural district in Nad Ali District, Helmand Province * Marja' Marji ( ar, مرجع, transliteration: ''marjiʿ''; plural ...

(Deputy Governor) and

Tuomas Välimäki Tuomas is a male given name common in Finland. It is the Finnish version of the name Thomas. Common variations of Tuomas in Finland include Tuomo, Toomas, Tomas and Thoma. The nameday is the 21st of December. As of 2013 there are more than 32,000 p ...

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-governmental ...

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 Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

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 recorde ...

1820–1827 *

Johan Gustaf Winter Johan * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada * Jo-Han, a ...

1827–1841 *

Carl Wilhelm Trapp Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", List of Aqua Teen ...

1841–1853 *

Axel Ludvig Born Axel may refer to: People * Axel (name), all persons with the name Places * Axel, Netherlands, a town ** Capture of Axel, a battle at Axel in 1586 Arts, entertainment, media * ''Axel'', a 1988 short film by Nigel Wingrove * ''Axel'', a Cirq ...

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 Frans is an Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish given name, sometimes as a short form of ''François''. One cognate of Frans in English is ''Francis''. Given name * Frans van Aarssens (1572–1641), Dutch diplomat ...

1856–1858 *

Wilhelm Blidberg Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

1858–1861 *

Carl Isak Björkman Carl may refer to: * Carl, Georgia, city in USA * Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name * Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of ...

1862–1866 * Victor von Haartman 1866–1870 * August Florin 1870–1875 *

Gustaf Samuel von Troil Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

1875–1884 * Alfred Charpentier 1884–1897 * Theodor Wegelius 1898–1906 * Clas Herman von Collan 1907–1918 * Otto Stenroth 1918–1923 *

August Ramsay August Ramsay (15 March 1859 – 23 July 1943) was a Finnish mathematician, banker and insurance executive. Ramsay was promoted to doctor of philosophy from Imperial Alexander University in 1882. From 1891 Ramsay served as Finland's first insuran ...

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 peri ...

1923–1940 *

Johan Wilhelm Rangell Johan Wilhelm (Jukka) Rangell (25 October 1894 – 12 March 1982) was the Prime Minister of Finland from 1941 to 1943. Educated as a lawyer, he was a close acquaintance of President Risto Ryti before the war, and made his initial career as a ba ...

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 th ...

1945–1955 * Rainer von Fieandt 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 Rolf Evert Kullberg (3 October 1930 in Pojo, Finland – 3 September 2007 in Helsinki) was the Governor of the Bank of Finland from 1983 to 1992. He was a member of the board since 1974. Before that he worked in the ministry of finance and in a ...

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 f ...

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 Antti Ilmari Lindtman (born 11 August 1982) is a Finnish politician from the Social Democratic Party. He has been the chairman of the city council of Vantaa since 2009 and a member of the Parliament of Finland for Uusimaa since April 2011. In Apri ...

(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 (2007–2008) *

Mari Kiviniemi Mari Johanna Kiviniemi (born 27 September 1968) is a Finnish politician, who served as the second female Prime Minister of Finland from 2010 to 2011. Since 25 August 2014, she is Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD. Life and career Kiviniemi ...

(2006–2007) *

Olavi Ala-Nissilä Olavi Oskari Ala-Nissilä (born August 2, 1949 in Loimaa kunta, Finland) is a Finnish politician. He has been an MP from 1991 to 2006 and was re-elected in 2015. Ala-Nissilä was a member of the European Court of Auditors in between 2006 and ...

(2003–2006) *

Mauri Pekkarinen Reijo Mauri Matias Pekkarinen (born 6 October 1947, in Kinnula, Finland) is a Finnish politician, currently serving as a Member of European Parliament for Finland. He is the Centre Party of Finland (''Suomen Keskusta'') deputy and secretary, ...

(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 Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (; born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who has served as president of Finland since March 2012, the 12th person to hold that office. A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Pa ...

(1995) *

Pentti Mäki-Hakola Pentti Matti Mäki-Hakola (11 January 1929 – 20 September 1996) was a Finnish engineer and politician, born in Nurmo. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1966 to 1995, representing the National Coalition Party. He was a pres ...

(1991–1995) * Erkki Pystynen (1990–1991) *

Mauri Miettinen Mauri (from which derives the English term "Moors") was the Latin designation for the Berber population of Mauretania, located in the part of North Africa west of Numidia, in present-day northern Morocco and northwestern Algeria. Name ''Mauri'' ...

(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 Juha is a masculine given name of Finnish origin derived from Johannes (or John in English language contexts). Notable people with the name include: * Juha Alén * Juha Gustafsson * Juha Hakola * Juha Harju * Juha Haukkala * Juha Hautamäki * ...

(−1971) *

Veikko Kokkola Veikko Johan Kokkola (2 January 1911, Kotka – 19 February 1974) was a Finnish politician. He was a Member of the Parliament of Finland from 1951 to 1970, representing the Social Democratic Party of Finland The Social Democratic Party of Fi ...

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 In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body ...

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 Associatio ...

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