The Bank of Finland aims to be one of the most efficient central banks in the EU. This requires determined economic governance and HR planning. The bank evaluates investments based on their costs, qualitative benefits and operative risks.

In 2018, the Bank of Finland’s operating expenses totalled EUR 91.3 million. The total expenses of the previous year amounted to EUR 81.8 million.

The Bank’s expenses for 2018 include a donation of EUR 2.5 million to a separate new fund established in connection to the University of Helsinki’s Helsinki Graduate School of Economics Fund. The GSE sub-fund will fund a macroeconomics professorship.

Budgeted operating income amounted to EUR 13.8 million. The Bank’s net operating expenses totalled EUR 77.5 million (for more information on operating expenses and the budget, see Table). Investments in 2018 totalled EUR 8.9 million.

In autumn 2018, the Bank’s budgets for the period 2019–2021 were drawn up and, of these, the Board ratified the budget for 2019. The budgets for 2020–2021 will be ratified by the Board at a later date.

Operating expenses and related objectives included in the budgets are monitored on a quarterly basis. The Board evaluates operations and cost-efficiency on the basis of the budgetary monitoring.

Pension fund budget

The pension fund’s operating expenses for 2018 totalled EUR 29.6 million. In 2017, the total expenses amounted to EUR 29.0 million. Pensions paid constituted the largest cost item, amounting to EUR 27.6 million.

The pension fund received an additional contribution of EUR 10.0 million. The fund’s operating income amounted to EUR 22.0 million (see Table). The pension fund’s operations are presented in its own annual report.

Budget for the Financial Supervisory Authority

The Board of the Bank of Finland ratifies the budget for the Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA). In 2018, the FIN-FSA’s operating expenses totalled EUR 29.9 million. The total expenses for 2017 amounted to EUR 25.6 million.

Total income amounted to EUR 29.9 million, of which supervision and processing fees accounted for EUR 27.7 million, while the Bank of Finland’s contribution to funding was EUR 1.5 million. The surplus for the financial year was EUR 2.1 million. This will be taken into account in the following accounting period when setting supervision and processing fees (see Table).

Investments for 2018 totalled EUR 1.7 million. The Financial Supervisory Authority’s operations are presented in its own annual report.

Table 1.
Bank of Finland Outturn
2018
Eur m		 Budgeted
2019
Eur m
1. Operating expenses and income
EXPENSES
Staff expenses 39.4 33.7
Staff-related expenses 2.6 3.4
Other expenses 30.0 30.5
DEPRECIATION 10.6 8.6
Total 82.6 76.2
Banknote acquisition costs 2.1 5.7
Banking service expenses 6.6 7.1
Total operating expenses 91.3 89.0
INCOME
Banking service income 2.6 2.6
Real estate 5.6 5.6
Other income 0.5 0.5
Services to FIN-FSA 5.1 5.9
Total income 13.8 14.6
Net 77.5 74.4
2. Investment
Real estate investment 5.7 6.0
Head office premises 0.6 1.3
Vantaa premises 5.1 4.7
Other premises 0.0 0.0
IT-equipment and software 2.6 4.2
Cash handling machines 0.1 0.0
Security equipment 0.5 1.3
Other 0.0 0.0
Total investment 8.9 11.6
Due to rounding, totals/sub-totals may not add up.
Table 2.
Pension fund Outturn
2018
EUR m		 Budgeted
2019
EUR m
1. Operating expenses and income
EXPENSES
Staff expenses 0.0 0.1
Expenses for pension fund activities 0.5 0.5
Pension fund real estate expenses 0.5 0.5
DEPRECIATION 0.9 0.9
PENSIONS
Pensions paid 27.6 27.6
Total expenses 29.6 29.6
INCOME
Employment pension contributions 20.4 11.9
Internal rents 1.6 1.7
Total income 22.0 13.6
Net 7.5 16.0
Due to rounding, totals/sub-totals may not add up.
Table 3.
Financial Supervisory Authority Outturn
2018
EUR m		 Budgeted
2019
EUR m
1. Operating expenses and income
EXPENSES
Staff expenses 18.6 21.4
Staff-related expenses 1.0 1.7
Other expenses 4.1 5.2
DEPRECIATION 1 1.1
SERVICES FROM THE BANK OF FINLAND 5.1 5.9
Total operating expenses 29.9 35.2
FUNDING OF OPERATIONS
Supervision fees 26.3 29.3
Processing fees 1.4 1.5
Bank of Finland contribution to funding 1.5 1.8
Surplus/deficit transferred from previous year 2.7 2.7
Total income 32.0 35.2
Surplus transferred to next year 2.1 0
Due to rounding, totals/sub-totals may not add up.
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