Juha Niemelä appointed Head of Market Operations at the Bank of Finland

The Board of the Bank of Finland has appointed Juha Niemelä Lis.Soc.Sc. as Head of the Market Operations department for a fixed term of five years. He succeeds Harri Lahdenperä Lis.Soc.Sc., who retired on 1 September 2019.

Juha Niemelä has since 2008 held a position in the investment department of Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company, for the past six years in senior positions, including head of fixed-income investments, allocation and alternative investments. Niemelä's previous posts include portfolio manager in the banking and fund sector and at the Bank of Finland.

The task of Market Operations is to implement the monetary policy of the ECB, manage the financial assets of the Bank of Finland and produce market analyses for decision-making purposes. The department is responsible for the settlement operations, collateral management and payment traffic related to these operations and also supplies TARGET payment system services. Market Operations is further responsible for risk management related to monetary policy implementation.