Market Operations
The tasks of the Market Operations Department are to implement the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB), manage the foreign exchange reserves, gold reserves and other financial assets of the Bank of Finland and produce financial market analyses for purposes such as monetary policy decision-making. In performing these tasks, the Department is responsible for the settlement of operations, collateral management and payments, and it also provides TARGET payment system services for Finnish and other Nordic financial market participants. The Department is further responsible for the risk management related to monetary policy implementation. It also participates in the policy preparation of the various activities in its area of responsibility in the Eurosystem.
The Head of Market Operations is Mika Pösö.
The Department includes the following divisions:
Banking Services
The Banking Services Division is responsible for providing the Eurosystem’s TARGET Services to the Finnish and Nordic banking sectors, and it participates in the development and management of the Eurosystem’s common market infrastructure.
The Division is also responsible for the back office operations concerning the Bank of Finland’s monetary policy implementation and investment activities, and for the supply of deposit account services and the collateral management for Eurosystem credit operations.
Monetary Policy Implementation
The Monetary Policy Implementation Division is responsible for the front office operations and policy analysis related to the implementation of monetary policy as well as financial market analysis and, in part, foreign exchange transactions.
Asset Management
The Asset Management Division is responsible for investing the Bank of Finland’s foreign exchange reserves, gold reserves and other financial assets.The Division, on behalf of the Bank of Finland, is also responsible, together with the Estonian central bank, Eesti Pank, for investing their shares of the ECB’s foreign reserves.
Counterparties and Collateral
The Counterparties and Collateral Division is responsible for maintaining and updating the rules and the frameworks for counterparties and collateral associated with the implementation of monetary policy. The Division is also in charge of the related analysis and risk management. It is further responsible for ensuring the eligibility of the securities used as collateral in monetary policy credit operations and purchase programmes, including the eligibility of the issuers.The Division also coordinates the process for approval of new counterparties.