The Bank of Finland (, ) is the central bank of Finland and today the bank is a member of the European System of Central Banks. It views itself as the fourth oldest surviving central bank in the world, after Sweden's Riksbank, the Bank of England, and the Bank of France. Until 1999 and 2002, the national central bank was responsible for issuing the first old original Classic National former Finnish currency, the markka. It responsibilities, duties, powers, and functions were taken over by the European Central Bank (ECB) when it became part of it when it adopted the Euro Currency on 1 January, 1999 digitally and on 1 January, 2002 physically. History The precursor of Bank of Finland, Waihetus-, Laina- ja Depositioni-Contori Suomen Suuren-ruhtinaanmaassa (The Exchange, Loan and Deposit Office of the Grand Duchy of Finland), was established on 1 March 1812 in the city of Turku by Alexander I of Russia. In 1819 it was relocated to Helsinki. Until 1840 the main purpose of the bank was to carry out currency reform to introduce Imperial ruble. The Bank created and regulated the Finnish Markka from its inauguration in 1860 until Finland adopted the euro in 1999. Mandate, ownership and organization The Bank of Finland is Finland's central bank and a member of the European System of Central Banks and of the Eurosystem. It is Finland's monetary authority, and is responsible for the country's currency supply and foreign exchange reserves. The Bank of Finland is owned by the Republic of Finland and governed by the Finnish Parliament, through the Parliamentary Supervisory Council and the Board of the bank. The Board is responsible for the administration of the bank, and the Parliamentary Supervisory Council for supervising the administration and activities of the bank and for other statutory tasks. The bank is governed under the provisions of the Act on the Bank of Finland, passed in 1998. The bank has branch offices in Kuopio, Tampere, and Oulu. The bank has a staff of about 380 persons. The highest official in the bank is the Governor (currently Olli Rehn) who also chairs the board. Members of the Board in August 2018 were Olli Rehn (Governor), Marja Nykänen (Deputy Governor) and Tuomas Välimäki. BOFIT is an internal think tank of the Bank of Finland, which has historically been driven by the imperative for Finland to gain a granular understanding of the economic situation