Bank of Finland facts for kids
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| Headquarters | Helsinki |
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| 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 Finland's central bank. It is part of the Eurosystem, which manages the euro currency. From 1812 to 1998, the Bank of Finland was in charge of Finland's money, including issuing the old Finnish currency called the markka. It is one of the oldest central banks still operating in the world. Only a few others, like Sweden's Riksbank and the Bank of England, are older.
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History of the Bank of Finland
The Bank of Finland started on March 1, 1812, in the city of Turku. Back then, it was called "The Exchange, Loan and Deposit Office of the Grand Duchy of Finland." Alexander I of Russia helped set it up. In 1819, the bank moved to Helsinki.
At first, the bank's main job was to change the money system. It helped bring in the Imperial Russian ruble. Later, from 1860, the Bank of Finland created and managed the Finnish markka. It did this until Finland started using the euro in 1999.
What the Bank of Finland Does
The Bank of Finland is the central bank for Finland. It is also a member of the European System of Central Banks and the Eurosystem. This means it works with other European central banks to manage the euro.
The bank is in charge of Finland's money supply. It also manages the country's foreign money reserves. These are like savings of other countries' currencies.
Who Owns and Runs the Bank
The Bank of Finland belongs to the Republic of Finland. The Finnish Parliament oversees it. Two main groups help run the bank: the Parliamentary Supervisory Council and the Board of the bank.
The Board handles the daily running of the bank. The Parliamentary Supervisory Council watches over how the bank is managed. They also make sure the bank follows the law. The rules for the bank are set out in the Act on the Bank of Finland, passed in 1998.
The bank has offices in other Finnish cities like Kuopio, Tampere, and Oulu. About 380 people work for the Bank of Finland.
The most important person at the bank is the Governor. The Governor also leads the bank's Board. As of 2018, Olli Rehn was the Governor.
BOFIT: Researching Economies
BOFIT is a special research group within the Bank of Finland. It's like a "think tank" that studies the economies of other countries. Finland has always wanted to understand the economic situation in Russia, so BOFIT helps with that.
BOFIT was created in 1991. Its name comes from "BOF" for Bank of Finland and "IT" from a Finnish word meaning "research in bilateral trade." The full name has changed over time. Since 2021, it's called the "Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies." Since 2009, Iikka Korhonen has led BOFIT.
Governors of the Bank of Finland
The Governor is the highest official at the Bank of Finland. The current Governor is Olli Rehn, who started in 2018.
See also
- Economy of Finland
- Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority
- List of central banks
