The Bank of Finland is Finland's central bank as well as being a member of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).
According to the provisions of the Constitution of Finland, the Bank of Finland operates under the guarantee and supervision of the Parliament. Supervision of the Bank's operations is undertaken by the Parliamentary Supervisory Council. Responsibility for the statutory tasks imposed on the Bank belongs to the Board, which comprises the Governor – acting as chairman – and a maximum of five other members. The Governor is nominated by the President of the Republic upon the recommendation of the Parliamentary Supervisory Council, while the other members of the board are nominated directly by the Parliamentary Supervisory Council. The Governor serves for a seven-year term, while the remaining members of the Board have five-year terms.
In line with the provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Community, the Bank of Finland's primary objective is to achieve price stability in the euro area and Finland in particular. Another aim is to attain the other economic policy objectives without endangering price stability.
In undertaking the tasks of the Eurosystem, the Bank operates within the framework and guidelines of the European Central Bank (ECB). In other respects the Bank of Finland operates independently and, where necessary, in cooperation with the Finnish Government with the other relevant authorities.
The various national central banks also have tasks outside the scope of the ECSB. The Bank of Finland is the only euro area central bank to have a research unit specialising in research of economies in transition (BOFIT). The Bank also maintains links with many international organisations.
Administratively linked to the Bank of Finland, but operationally independent, the Finnish Financial Supervision Authority (FIN-FSA) supervises the functions of entities active in the financial markets. FIN-FSA's objective is to promote stability financial markets as well as confidence in the supervised entities' and markets' operations.