Bank of Finland

Bank of Finland
Suomen Pankki (in Finnish)
Finlands Bank (in Swedish)
Headquarters	Helsinki
Established	1 March 1812
Ownership	100% state ownership
Governor	Olli Rehn
Central bank of	Finland
Reserves	6 230 million USD
Succeeded by	European Central Bank (1999)1
Website	www.bof.fi
	1 The Bank of Finland still exists but many functions have been taken over by the ECB.

The Bank of Finland (Finnish: Suomen Pankki, Swedish: Finlands Bank) is the Finnish member of the Eurosystem and has been the monetary authority for Finland from 1812 to 1998, issuing the markka. 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]

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), 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^[update] were Olli Rehn (Governor), Marja Nykänen [fi] (Deputy Governor) and Tuomas Välimäki [fi].^[6]

BOFIT

BOFIT [fi] 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 [fi], who joined it in 1995.

Governors of the Bank of Finland

Claes Johan Sacklén 1812–1816
Carl Johan Idman 1817–1820
Otto Herman Lode 1820–1827
Johan Gustaf Winter 1827–1841
Carl Wilhelm Trapp 1841–1853
Axel Ludvig Born 1853–1856
Alex Federley 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 [fr] 1884–1897
Theodor Wegelius 1898–1906
Clas Herman von Collan [fi] 1907–1918
Otto Stenroth 1918–1923
August Ramsay 1923–1924
Risto Ryti 1923–1940
Johan Wilhelm Rangell 1943–1944
Risto Ryti 1944–1945
Sakari Tuomioja 1945–1955
Rainer von Fieandt 1955–1957
Klaus Waris 1957–1967
Mauno Koivisto 1968–1982
Ahti Karjalainen 1982–1983
Rolf Kullberg 1983–1992
Sirkka Hämäläinen 1992–1998
Matti Vanhala 1998–2004 (retired early due to illness)
Erkki Liikanen 2004–2018
Olli Rehn 2018–

Source: ^[8]

Chairmen of the Parliamentary Supervisory Council

Antti Lindtman (2019–present)
Matti Vanhanen (2015–2019)
Ben Zyskowicz (2011–2015)
Timo Kalli (2008–2011)
Seppo Kääriäinen (2007–2008)
Mari Kiviniemi (2006–2007)
Olavi Ala-Nissilä (2003–2006)
Mauri Pekkarinen (2003)
Ilkka Kanerva (1995–2003)
Sauli Niinistö (1995)
Pentti Mäki-Hakola (1991–1995)
Erkki Pystynen (1990–1991)
Mauri Miettinen (1987–1990)
Matti Jaatinen (1979–1987)
Harri Holkeri (1971–1979)
Juha Rihtniemi (−1971)
Veikko Kokkola
Juho Niukkanen
Erik von Frenckell

References

^ a b Weidner, Jan (2017). "The Organisation and Structure of Central Banks" (PDF). Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.
^ "History". Bank of Finland. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
^ a b c 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.
^ "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)
^ "Eurosystem and ESCB". Bank of Finland. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
^ a b "Organisaatio" [Organization]. Bank of Finland (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 April 2017.
^ Olli Rehn (9 November 2021). "Remarks - Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies' (BOFIT) 30th Anniversary Dinner" (PDF). Bank for International Settlements.
^ "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.

External links

(in Finnish, Swedish, and English) 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

60°10′16″N 24°57′09″E / 60.17121°N 24.95246°E / 60.17121; 24.95246

[dnbinfo-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.

[auto-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.

[org-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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