The Bank of Finland's scope activities covers four, clearly-defined core tasks: monetary policy and research, financial supervision, banking operations as well as the maintenance of currency supply.
Monetary policy and research
The key objective of the Eurosystem's monetary policy is the maintenance of price stability throughout the euro area. The decisions relating to the policy are centralised, being taken by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) and implemented at member country level by the individual national central banks.
As a member of the ECB's Governing Council, the Governor of the Bank of Finland is therefore one of those deciding on the interest levels set for the euro area and at the same time for Finland, too.
The Bank of Finland assesses the impact of the single monetary policy on the Finnish economy and takes it into account in the setting of domestic economic policy. The Bank publishes a macroeconomic forecast twice a year.
The Bank’s influence in the Eurosystem is based on internationally recognised high-quality research. The three main approaches taken by the Bank's research activities are the modelling of monetary policy, the future of the financial services sector and analyses of economies in transition (primarily China and Russia).
Financial supervision
The Bank of Finland promotes financial sector stability and efficiency using thorough macroprudential analyses and through the maintenance of contingency management procedures. The Bank’s crisis management preparedness is based on up-to-date information on the condition of the banking system and financial markets and the functioning of their respective infrastructure. When needed, the Bank of Finland acts as a lender of last resort to the banks.
The Bank of Finland bears responsibility for oversight of the financial system and macroeconomic supervision. The new Finnish Financial Supervision Authority (FIN-FSA), on the other hand, is the main authority responsible for supervision of banks, insurance and pension insurance companies as well as other insurance sector companies, investment firms, management companies and the stock exchange. The operations of the FIN-FSA are 95% financed by the supervised entities, while the remaining 5% is financed by the Bank of Finland. Administratively the FIN-FSA cooperates with the Bank of Finland and otherwise operates entirely independently.
The Bank produces a range of statistics, analyses and risk assessments to serve decision makers. Compilation of statistics is a function that supports the central bank in the preparation of monetary policy and analysis of the stability of the financial market.
Banking operations
The Bank of Finland is the banks' bank. It implements the Eurosystem's monetary policy in Finland through its own monetary policy operations in cooperation with its Finnish counterparties, generally banks.
The Bank of Finland safeguards the domestic financial system's liquidity management and handles payment transfers between banks. Banking operations also covers the management of the Bank's own financial reserves (such as currency reserves) and the prudent and lucrative investment of the Bank's share of ECB capital.
Maintenance of currency supply
The Bank of Finland is responsible for currency supply management in Finland and works to improve the quality, efficiency and security of the currency supply system. The Bank issues new euro bank notes and coins in Finland. It is also responsible for ensuring the authenticity and quality of the money in use in the country by removing counterfeit and damaged notes from circulation.
The Bank of Finland has ongoing cooperation with companies specialised in banking and cash distribution services. Currency distribution is handled through the Vantaa and Oulu regional offices.