The Bank of Finland’s website contains information on the Bank of Finland, its tasks and activities as well as its international role as a member of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks.
The Bank of Finland’s rejuvenated website was released on January 2011. The website was updated technically and visually, and the contents were also partly modified. The technical implementation was carried out by Sininen Meteoriitti Oy.
The website is maintained by and is the responsibility of the Bank of Finland. Information on this website is based on sources the Bank of Finland considers to be reliable. The site is subject to constant update and revision. While the Bank of Finland attempts to assure the correctness and timeliness of all material posted on the site it takes no responsibility for errors or omissions which are the result of technical causes, or otherwise. Further, the Bank of Finland specifically disclaims all responsibility for damage or harm caused as a result of use of information provided herein.
Website structure
The pages of the website are divided into two or three columns. The left-hand column contains a contents menu for each section of the website, the middle column is reserved for the main page contents and the left-hand column includes attached files, links to other sections of the website or other websites, and illustrations. The main sections of the website and supportive functions can be selected in the upper corner of the webpage.
Front page
The front page of the website displays current topics such as speeches, press releases and news. The latest publications and events are shown in the middle column. At the bottom of the centre column is a short cut to the site map. The most popular pages viewed are displayed on a word cloud; click on the word to go directly to the page concerned. The Bank's communication contact details are displayed on the Media pages. Beside the logo on the upper edge of the page, there is a link to the Euro.fi 'Eurokampus' pages, the Bank of Finland Museum and the Bank of Finland Institute for Economies in Transition BOFIT) pages. These links may change. In the right-hand column is a selection of statistical information from interest rates to exchange rates. Beneath the statistical information is a list of links to the Bank's other pages and important cooperative partners.
The website consists of eight main sections:
Publications
Bank of Finland publications comprise periodical publications, studies, statistical publications and legal provisions. Some of the publications of the ECB are translated into Finnish and published by the Bank.
Via the Publications section you can order Bank of Finland’s print publications in stock or subscribe to electronic publications.
Statistics
The Statistics section contains statistics published by the Bank of Finland and related information. Some reports are also available on the Statistical publications page. The euro area statistics section provides a selection of statistics with national breakdowns.
Research
The research conducted by the Bank of Finland focuses on topics related to the tasks of a central bank. The Bank’s research efforts are aimed at improving preparation of monetary policy and producing information on the Finnish, European and global economies. As the Bank is also responsible for fostering the reliability and efficiency of the financial system and payment systems, some of the research deals with issues related to banking services, securities markets and payment flows. The Bank also undertakes research on transition economies as a separate area of activity. This research is conducted by the Bank of Finland Institute for Economies in Transition (BOFIT) whose website is
www.bof.fi/bofit. Research publications are available in the Research section and the Publications section.
Monetary policy
Finland is part of the euro area, for which monetary policy is conducted by the Eurosystem. As a member of the Eurosystem, the Bank of Finland participates in the preparation of the single monetary policy and the related decision-making and implementation in the euro area. The Monetary policy section contains detailed information on the monetary policy strategy, decision-making and instruments. Publications on monetary policy are available in this section and the Publications section.
Banking operations
The Bank of Finland is Finland’s ‘bank of banks’. Its customers include close to 20 credit institutions, to which it offers a variety of central banking services on the domestic financial markets. The Bank of Finland is also a member of the Eurosystem, and as such is responsible for ensuring sufficient financial market liquidity and properly functioning payment systems. The Banking operations section provides information on topics such as the TARGET payment system (Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross settlement Express Transfer system), eligible assets and the management of services.
Financial stability
Financial markets provide a mechanism by which private individuals and companies make their savings available to others – for compensation. Financial intermediaries act as brokers between parties ready to supply funds and those in need of funds. The Financial stability section contains information on financial systems, the importance of financial market stability and efficiency, macroprudential analysis and oversight. This section also provides information on the development of financial markets, domestic and international cooperation and crisis management. Publications on financial stability are available in this section and the Publications section.
Banknotes and coins
The Bank of Finland issues banknotes and coins needed in Finland, with the approval of the ECB. The Banknotes and coins section contains information on the current series of euro banknotes and coins, the maintenance of currency supply and the exchange of markka banknotes and coins for euro. The Annulled notes and coins section includes historical data on old markka banknotes and coins, the number of withdrawn coins minted and the number of withdrawn banknotes and coins in circulation.
The Bank of Finland
The Bank of Finland section contains news on the Bank of Finland, its status and tasks, job opportunities and information on the organisation. Profiles of members of the Board of the Bank of Finland, some researchers and experts are also presented in this section. It also provides basic information on the Bank’s international cooperation and its role as a member of the Eurosystem.
You can subscribe to news items and get them as RSS news feeds directly to your own browser.
Other sections of the Bank of Finland website are: Public services, Contact information and Feedback. The Public services section contains information on the Bank’s information and customer service. The Contact information section provides postal and street addresses to the Bank’s head office and the different departments, to the Financial Supervision Authority, the Bank’s Museum and the branch offices. (Unfortunately, there is no customer service in branch offices).
Functions
The link path at the top of the webpage shows your location in the website.
Links to the different language and text versions (Finnish, Swedish and English) are found on the top corner of each page. You can change the font size with the plus and minus icons. The site map and the search engine help you to navigate through the site and find information you are looking for.
Search function
Each page displays a search engine you can use to find information from the Bank of Finland’s website. The search engine is also available in the Swedish and English language pages. You can restrict your search to selected sections on the search result pages.
Links
The internal links in the contents column on the left-hand side of the window, and the links under ‘Related topics’ on the right-hand side, will open in the same browser window. Links under ‘Related links’ will open in a new browser window.
The middle column of the page displays the main contents of each page. Where appropriate there are links to more in-depth information on the respective subjects at the bottom of the middle column.
Where a page is particularly long, the contents may be shown on the top in the form of table of contents. Links will take you to the different points in the same page.
Printing
There is a print link on the top of each page. The link will open the page in a new browser window in which you can print the text version of the page.
Pictures and images
The illustration on the upper pane of the pages is related to the theme of each specific section. The Bank of Finland has full rights to all photographs, pictures, images and illustrations on the Bank of Finland website. The photograph of the Bank of Finland head office has been taken by Simo Salanne. Photographs of the Bank of Finland Board and experts are taken by Peter Mickelsson and Douglas Sivén.
Technical recommendations - browser compatibility
To view the Bank of Finland’s website, your browser must support frames and style sheets (ccs). We recommend IE 7, Firefox 3 Opera 10 or newer. Page width will scale to the width of the browser window. This site is best viewed at 1024 x 768. A session cookie is required for viewing interactive statistical tables and charts and saving font size changes made with the button on the top of the page.
Data collection
The Bank of Finland’s website is maintained in adherence with the Personal Data Act. The privacy policy regarding the electronic subscription service is available from the Bank of Finland. For that matter, no personal registers are established on website users. A user’s email address or other contact information is requested only in connection with user enquiries and feedback.
The Bank of Finland’s website only uses session cookies that are related to part of the website’s functionalities, such as font size changes, text version and the statistical report system. General data is collected on the use of the web-site to develop the service further. Such data includes visitor numbers, most popular pages, most popular search words and browsers, pages from which users have linked to the Bank’s website and the country from which the user comes. Visitor statistics are based on server log data and tag file data using Snoobie programme’s cookie and JavaScript code. Users can participate in a user survey, conducted about once a year on the site, to further develop the Bank of Finland’s website.
News alert
Our website provides the possibility to subscribe to a news alert service concerning the number of the most recent publications, statistics and current affairs. The News alert service uses the Postiviidakko service provided by Koodiviidakko Oy. The subscription register can be found on the Koodiviidakko server.
Feedback and further information
Should you want to give us feedback, please feel free to use the feedback form. Official post should be sent to the Bank of Finland registry office at kirjaamo(at)bof.fi.
Should you wish to obtain any further information on this website, please contact us at info(at)bof.fi.