HELSINKI: Finland’s central bank released a statement that annual profit after provisions was €150 million, down 37% from €239 million in 2013. The bank official said that the low interest rates caused by the European Central Bank’s monetary policy hurt the Bank of Finland’s annual result in 2014.
The central bank will transfer 92%, or €138 million, of its profit to state coffers, it said in a statement. Finland, a Nordic country of 5.5 million people, is one of the 19 European Union member states that use the common currency euro.
Bank of Finland Governor Erkki Liikanen said in a statement that the Finnish central bank can expect smaller profits in the future because the ECB is poised to keep its interest rates low for an extended period. Mr. Liikanen said “The low interest rates have had and will continue to have a weakening effect on the central bank’s results”. Bank of Finland’s revenue comes mainly from investments in foreign reserves and other financial assets and from interest on banknotes and monetary policy.
