The Bank of Finland invests in all about EUR 19,017 million worth of assets, consisting of the Bank’s own financial assets, the share of foreign reserve assets transferred to the ECB and the Bank's pension fund assets. At the end of 2010, the value of the Bank's own financial assets, the foreign reserve assets held with the ECB and the Bank's pension fund assets amounted to EUR 17,534 million, EUR 957 million and EUR 526 million, respectively.
The Bank of Finland manages its own financial assets safely and productively so as to be able to fulfil its tasks as central monetary authority under all circumstances. The management of the reserves serves to maintain the value of the financial assets and the Bank's ability to promote the liquidity of the banking system and the economy. In its investment policy, the Bank is guided by the objectives of security, liquidity and return.
The Bank of Finland is also responsible for the management of the foreign reserves held with the European Central Bank according to the ECB's instructions. Management of the foreign reserves of the ECB has been distributed among the Eurosystem national central banks. At the end of 2010, the Bank of Finland and the Estonian central bank agreed on joint management of the ECB’s foreign reserves following Estonia's accession to Economic and Monetary Union from the beginning of 2011. The combined share of Finland and Estonia of the ECB’s foreign reserves is denominated in Japanese yen and is managed at the Bank of Finland from the beginning of 2011. Security and liquidity form the special requirements for the investment of the foreign reserves.
The objective of the Bank of Finland's pension fund is to develop the management of assets held in cover of the Bank's pension liability in accordance with the generally accepted principles for the management of pension assets. These may deviate from the principles applied to the investment of the Bank's financial assets.