The Parliamentary Supervisory Council has confirmed the Bank of Finland’s financial statements for 2013. Upon the proposal of the Board of the Bank of Finland, the Parliamentary Supervisory Council decided on the transfer of EUR 180 million to the State. Last year, the Bank transferred EUR 227 million to the State.
The Bank of Finland’s profit after provisions totalled EUR 239 million for the financial year 2013 (2012: EUR 337 million). The Bank of Finland increased the general provision by EUR 50 million on net (2012: EUR 300 million).1 This and other provisions serve as a buffer against exchange rate, interest rate and credit risks and ensure the Bank’s ability to carry out its tasks under all circumstances. Total provisions against risks amounted to EUR 3,323 million (2012: EUR 3,125 million).
The Bank of Finland’s income consists primarily of interest income on banknotes and monetary policy items as well as from investment income on foreign reserves and other own financial assets. In 2013, net interest income amounted to EUR 542 million (2012: EUR 998 million). Due to the low level of interest rates and a decrease in monetary policy items and intra-Eurosystem claims, interest income was lower than in the previous year. At the end of 2013, claims related to the TARGET payment system totalled EUR 22.2 billion (2012: EUR 70.6 billion). They originated in deposits with the Bank of Finland by banks operating in Finland. ‛Financial market activity has recovered gradually, which is reflected in the Bank of Finland’s financial result for 2013 in a lower volume of monetary policy operations and a smaller profit for the financial year’, states Pentti Hakkarainen, Deputy Governor of the Board of the Bank of Finland.
The Bank of Finland uses its income to cover its operating expenses and provisions. Operating expenses totalled EUR 94 million (2012: EUR 92 million). Operating expenses and other income also include the Financial Supervisory Authority’s (FIN-FSA) expenses and supervision fee income. Staff costs included in the operating expenses totalled EUR 52 million, of which the Bank’s share was EUR 34 million (2012: EUR 34 million) and the FIN-FSA’s share was EUR 18 million (2012: EUR 17 million).
According to the Act on the Bank of Finland, half of the Bank’s profit is to be transferred to the reserve fund and the remaining profit is made available for the use in accordance with the needs of the State. However, the law allows for an exceptional profit distribution if justified by of the Bank’s financial condition or size of the reserve fund.
In its profit distribution proposal, the Bank of Finland Board assessed that the Bank’s capital adequacy is sufficient to cover the risks relating to the undertaking of the Bank’s tasks. As in the previous year, and on the basis of these considerations, a share of the profit from 2013 exceeding the statutory 50% will be made available to the State.
Notes on the Bank of Finland’s financial statements have been published today on 24 March 2014 as part of the Annual Report 2013:
http://www.suomenpankki.fi/fi/julkaisut/vuosikertomus/Pages/vk_2013.aspx (in Finnish)
For further information, please contact:
Pentti Hakkarainen, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Finland, tel. +358 10 831 2002.
1 In addition, the Bank transferred to the profit for 2013 EUR 50 million from the provision of EUR 100 million made in 2012 in respect of unreturned Finnish markka banknotes.