Bank of Finland
1.2 Bank of Finland in 2023
The Bank of Finland is Finland’s monetary authority and is part of the Eurosystem. The Bank of Finland’s strategy is centred on its vision statement: ‘The Bank of Finland is an influential and respected central bank that maintains price and financial stability in all circumstances with the aim of promoting citizens’ wellbeing’.
Bank of Finland’s tasks and strategic priorities 2023
The Bank of Finland is Finland’s monetary authority and national central bank. At the same time it is a part of the Eurosystem, which is responsible for monetary policy and other central bank functions in the countries of the euro area and for administering the world’s second largest currency, the euro.
The main objective of the Eurosystem and the Bank of Finland is price stability, which means making sure that inflation remains low.
The Bank of Finland has both domestic and Eurosystem objectives.
The Bank of Finland
- prepares and implements monetary policy in Finland;
- oversees the stability of the financial system and produces statistics;
- conducts research and participates in economic policy debate;
- takes care of clearing for interbank payments and manages its own investments;
- maintains stable and efficient payment systems and issues banknotes and coins into circulation.
To carry out its tasks, the Bank of Finland has selected five strategic priorities for the next three years.
The Bank of Finland’s strategic priorities are:
1. Analysing inflation dynamics and bringing high inflation down to its target level
Preparing monetary policy for conditions in which inflation is high or fluctuating requires new information. The Bank of Finland will deepen its understanding of the euro area’s inflation dynamics with the aid of research and analysis.
2. Anticipating financial crises and strengthening bank resolution processes
The Bank of Finland will strengthen its operational readiness for any financial market disruptions.
3. Furthering the resilience of and alternatives for European retail payments
The Bank of Finland will focus strongly on preparatory work for a digital euro and on ensuring that an instant payment service based on European standards is introduced in Finland.
4. Promoting sustainable economic policy in Finland and the EU
The Bank of Finland aims to ensure that Finland’s level of competitiveness is high and its economic growth is sustainable, and that the wellbeing of Finland’s citizens is underpinned as much as possible by the EU and Monetary Union.
The European Central Bank’s (ECB) climate strategy and the Bank of Finland’s sustainability work will provide effective support for managing the risks related to climate change and to biodiversity loss.
5. Promoting the data economy
The aim is to make sure that the Bank of Finland and the FIN-FSA have comprehensive access to different datasets, and to ensure the accessibility, usability and efficient management of data and materials.
The Bank of Finland will improve its readiness, ability and competence to apply modern data analytics to data of all kinds and will be agile in creating solutions suitable for different purposes.
Bank of Finland’s international cooperation in 2023
Economic and financial issues within the scope of central bank policies are cross-border in nature, so measures to address them call for close international cooperation.
The ECB and the national central banks are the main international partners of the Bank of Finland. The Governor of the Bank of Finland, Olli Rehn, is a member of the Eurosystem’s highest decision-making body, the Governing Council of the ECB. The Governing Council’s principal task is to decide on the monetary policy of the euro area.
The Governing Council meets regularly in the euro area member countries. In February 2023, the Bank of Finland organised a meeting of the ECB’s Governing Council in Inari, Lapland. The Governing Council last held a meeting in Finland in 2011.
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank at the Sámi Cultural Centre Sajos in Inari, Lapland, February 2023.
The Bank of Finland is responsible for Finland’s relations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF works to foster international cooperation, open and rules-based foreign trade, sustainable economic growth and financial stability.
The Governor of the Bank of Finland is Finland’s representative on the IMF’s Board of Governors. Finland participates in the decision-making of the IMF as part of the IMF’s Nordic-Baltic Constituency (NBC).
The financial support needs of IMF member countries grew in 2023 as a consequence of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the surge in inflation and tightening of monetary policy. The IMF responded to the financing needs through actions including temporary emergency funding for countries affected by the food crisis.
IMF communications (in Finnish) emphasised the importance of protecting multilateral cooperation, opposing geoeconomic fragmentation and supporting the green transition.
The Governor of the Bank of Finland also participates in the regular meetings of the governors of the member central banks of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
The Bank of Finland participates in the work of EU institutions and committees. The Bank is a member of the EU’s Economic and Financial Committee (EFC). The EFC was set up to promote economic policy coordination among EU Member States and to participate in the preparatory work for the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council, commonly known as the Ecofin Council.
The financial stability of the European Union is supervised by the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), which is responsible for preventing and minimising systemic risks. Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn was elected First Vice-Chair of the ESRB in April 2023.
The governors of central banks in the Nordic countries met in Copenhagen in May. They discussed the housing market and the transmission of monetary policy, among other things.
See Bank of Finland representatives at the ECB, EU and other international bodies (PDF).
Bank of Finland ranked among ‘Finland’s most inspiring workplaces 2023’
Satisfaction at work is monitored at the Bank of Finland using the PeoplePower index.
The Bank’s index result of 74.5 on a scale of 0–100 was significantly above the norm for expert staff in Finland (72.3). The Bank of Finland was ranked among ‘Finland’s most inspiring workplaces 2023’ in recognition of the results from its staff survey. The title is awarded annually to the best-performing organisations that take part in Eezy Flow’s PeoplePower survey.
Sustainability work and climate measures in 2023
Sustainability is one of the key elements of the Bank of Finland’s activities. The Bank’s sustainability programme focuses on promoting sustainable growth and wellbeing, influencing policy and debate through information provision and active engagement, and managing climate risks.
The Bank of Finland’s most significant sustainability measures concerned implementation of the ECB’s climate strategy and the sustainability objectives in the Bank’s financial assets management.
The aim of the ECB’s action plan is to reduce the financial risk associated with climate change in the Eurosystem’s balance sheet, improve the accessibility of information and support the transition to a greener economy. The Bank of Finland continued its preparatory work to take into account climate risks in monetary policy purchases of securities and in the collateral framework. In 2023, the Eurosystem published its first climate report on ‘Climate-related financial disclosures of the Eurosystem’s corporate sector holdings for monetary policy purposes’.
The Bank of Finland assesses how climate change will affect the functioning and risks of the financial system. In 2023, the Bank of Finland analysed the impact of climate change on the performance of banks and on macroprudential policy.
The Bank of Finland’s financial assets management emphasises responsible investment. This is evident in the management of financial assets and forms a part of the investment policy. In 2023, the Bank of Finland monitored and reported the climate impacts of its investment activities in accordance with the Eurosystem’s common reporting requirements.
The Bank of Finland aims to improve the efficiency with which it uses energy and materials in its own activities. As a result of improvements made in energy saving measures in the organisation’s properties and changes made in construction investment, total emissions fell significantly in 2023. Take a look at the environmental impacts of the Bank of Finland in 2023.
Sustainability work at the Bank of Finland in 2023
The Bank of Finland’s 2023 communications goals as key figures
The Bank of Finland revised its communications policy on the basis of the Bank’s strategy. The new core message is ‘Securing stability using high-quality data’, which indicates the Bank of Finland’s role in society.
The Bank of Finland produces and interprets high-quality data on the economy. The aim is that such data will enable better decisions to be made in society, amid the fake news and information influence activities of today’s world.
Bank of Finland’s budget in 2023
The Bank of Finland’s objective is to carry out its tasks in an economic and efficient manner. The Board evaluates implementation of the objectives on a quarterly basis.
| Bank of Finland | Outturn2023EUR m | Budgeted2024EUR m |
|---|---|---|
| Operating expenses and income | ||
| EXPENSES | ||
| Staff expenses | -39.1 | -40.8 |
| Staff-related expenses | -2.7 | -3.8 |
| Other expenses | -32.7 | -39.1 |
| Banking service expenses | -8.4 | -8.2 |
| Depreciation | -9.1 | -9.7 |
| Total | -92.0 | -101.5 |
| Banknote acquisition costs | -4.4 | -5.9 |
| Pension fund contribution | -8.3 | -8.3 |
| Total operating expenses | -104.7 | -115.7 |
| INCOME | ||
| Banking service income | 1.5 | 1.4 |
| Real estate | 5.1 | 5.0 |
| Other income | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Services to FIN-FSA | 7.3 | 7.4 |
| Total income | 15.1 | 14.2 |
| Net | -89.6 | -101.5 |
| Due to rounding, the totals do not necessarily tally. | ||
| Bank of Finland | Outturn2023EUR m | Budgeted2024EUR m |
|---|---|---|
| Investment | ||
| Real estate investment | 4.1 | 7.4 |
| Head office premises | 1.1 | 1.7 |
| Vantaa premises | 2.5 | 3.9 |
| Other premises | 0.4 | 1.8 |
| IT equipment and software | 3.5 | 5.7 |
| Cash handling machines | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Security equipment | 0.9 | 1.3 |
| Other | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Total investment | 8.5 | 14.6 |
| Due to rounding, the totals do not necessarily tally. | ||
| Pension fund | Outturn2023EUR m | Budgeted2024EUR m |
|---|---|---|
| Operating expenses and income | ||
| EXPENSES | ||
| Staff expenses | -0.0 | 0.0 |
| Expenses for pension fund activities | -0.2 | -0.3 |
| Pension fund real estate expenses | -0.7 | -0.6 |
| Depreciation | -1.0 | -1.0 |
| Pensions paid | -31.5 | -33.5 |
| Total expenses | -33.4 | -35.4 |
| INCOME | ||
| Employment pension contributions | 14.1 | 15.0 |
| Internal rents | 1.8 | 2.0 |
| Pension fund contribution | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| Total income | 25.9 | 26.9 |
| Net | -7.5 | -8.5 |
| Due to rounding, the totals do not necessarily tally. | ||
| Financial Supervisory Authority | Outturn2023EUR m | Budgeted2024EUR m |
|---|---|---|
| Operating expenses and income | ||
| EXPENSES | ||
| Staff expenses | -26.3 | -28.2 |
| Staff-related expenses | -0.6 | -1.3 |
| Other expenses | -6.4 | -8.5 |
| Depreciation | -1.0 | -1.3 |
| Services from the Bank of Finland | -7.3 | -7.4 |
| Pension fund contribution | -1.7 | -1.7 |
| Total operating expenses | -43.3 | -48.4 |
| FUNDING OF OPERATIONS | ||
| Supervision fees | 40.7 | 41.0 |
| Processing fees | 2.1 | 1.9 |
| Bank of Finland contribution to funding | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| Surplus/deficit transferred from previous year | 2.3 | 3.1 |
| Total income | 47.3 | 48.4 |
| Surplus transferred to next year | -3.9 | |
| Due to rounding, the totals do not necessarily tally. | ||
| Financial Supervisory Authority | Outturn2023EUR m | Budgeted2024EUR m |
|---|---|---|
| Investment | ||
| IT equipment and software | 1.8 | 2.7 |
| Total investment | 1.8 | 2.7 |
| Due to rounding, the totals do not necessarily tally. | ||
Data Balance Sheet
The key figures set out in the Bank of Finland’s Data Balance Sheet provide a picture of the central bank’s data-intensive work and its information resources. The key figures, data collections, analytical background information and details of improvements in information management are presented more extensively in the Bank of Finland’s Data Balance Sheet, which is to be published in English in April.
| 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Case management and documents | ||
| Matters entered in case management system | 507 | 566 |
| Documents stored in case management system | 2,515 | 2,447 |
| Documents transferred to digital archive* | 20,606 | 6,505 |
| Documents in digital archive, total | 453,427 | 432,831 |
| Number of visitors to historical archive | 12 | 4 |
| Duration of visits (hours, total) | 63 | 42 |
| Data and statistics assets | ||
| Statistical data collections performed | 12 | 12 |
| Regular reporters of statistics | 1,645 | 1,675 |
| Statistical data collection reports received | 26,046 | 24,771 |
| Time series entries in the time series database | 12,047,416 | 10,265,341 |
| Statistics dashboards in external network | 57 | 37 |
| API calls in open data service (million) | 12 | 2.5 |
| Requests for experts, statements and information | ||
| Requests for experts | 17 | 52 |
| Requests for statements | 47 | 38 |
| Requests for information | 40 | 42 |
| *The archiving function of the electronic workspaces was introduced in June 2023. | ||
