Central Bank of Iceland
 | |
 Headquarters of the bank | |
| Central bank of | Iceland |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Kalkofnsvegur 1, Reykjavík |
| Established | 7 April 1961 |
| Ownership | 100% state ownership[1] |
| Governor | Ásgeir Jónsson |
| Currency | Icelandic króna ISK (ISO 4217) |
| Reserves | 6.839 billion USD[1] |
| Preceded by | Landsbanki Íslands |
| Website | cb sedlabanki |
The Central Bank of Iceland (Icelandic: Seðlabanki Íslands, pronounced [ˈsɛðlaˌpauŋcɪ ˈistlan(t)s]) is the central bank or reserve bank of Iceland. It is owned by the Icelandic government, and is administered by a governor and a seven-member supervisory board, elected by the country's parliament following each general election.[2] It has the sole right to issue notes and coins of Icelandic krónur and to manage the state's foreign currency reserves.
History
The Central Bank of Iceland was created in 1961 by an act of the Alþingi out of the central banking department of Landsbanki Íslands, which had been the island's sole bank of issue since 1927 and had conducted only limited monetary policy.
The Central Bank Act of 1986 eliminated the ability of the Central Bank to regulate the interest rates of commercial banks and savings banks.
Though nominally independent, the Central Bank of Iceland was historically expected to follow the lead of the central government. In 2001, however, a floating exchange rate policy was introduced and since then the Central Bank has been empowered to adopt an inflation target and manage monetary policy so as to achieve price stability independent of the policies of the central government.
In 2015, after the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis, the government of Iceland considered "a revolutionary monetary proposal" to abolish private money creation and to end to fractional-reserve banking.[3] Similar to the Swiss Sovereign Money Initiative, this plan would remove the power of money creation from the commercial banks and give it to the Central Bank of Iceland.[3] The option was not implemented.
On 1 January 2020, the Central Bank of Iceland absorbed the Financial Supervisory Authority, previously an independent institution established in 1999.[4]
Leadership
In its early days, the bank was governed by a system of 3 directors, similar to how the National Bank of Denmark is managed.[5]
| Name | Mandat | Name | Mandat | Name | Mandat | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jóhannes Nordal | 1961–1993 | Vilhjálmur Þór | 1961–1964 | Jón G. Maríasson | 1961–1967 | ||
| Jón Sigurðsson | 1993–1994 | Sigtryggur Klemensson | 1966–1971 | Davíð Ólafsson | 1967–1986 | ||
| Steingrímur Hermannsson | 1994–1998 | Svanbjörn Frímannsson | 1971–1973 | Geir Hallgrímsson | 1986–1990 | ||
| Finnur Ingólfsson | 2000–2002 | Guðmundur Hjartarson | 1974–1984 | Birgir Ísleifur | 1991–2005 | ||
| Ingimundur Friðriksson | 2002–2003 | Tómas Árnason | 1985–1993 | Davíð Oddsson | 2005–2009 | ||
| Jón Sigurðsson | 2003–2006 | Eiríkur Guðnason | 1994–2009 | ||||
| Ingimundur Friðriksson | 2006–2009 | ||||||
Following the 2008 crisis, the directors' system was abolished and Norwegian Svein Harald Øygard was appointed interim governor of the bank from February to August 2009.[6]
List of governors
| N.º | Name | Mandat |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Már Guðmundsson[7] | 20 August 2009–31 July 2019 |
| 2 | Ásgeir Jónsson | Since 1 July 2019 |
See also
- 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis
- Economy of Iceland
- Financial Supervisory Authority (Iceland)
- Icelandic króna
- List of central banks
- List of financial supervisory authorities by country
References
- ^ a b Weidner, Jan (2017). "The Organisation and Structure of Central Banks" (PDF). Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.
- ^ "Leadership and organisation of the Central Bank of Iceland". www.sedlabanki.is. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ a b Agence France-Presse, "Iceland looks at ending boom and bust with radical money plan", The Daily Telegraph, 31 March 2015 (page visited on 13 April 2018).
- ^ "Financial Supervisory Authority and Central Bank of Iceland merge". Central Bank of Iceland. 2 January 2020.
- ^ "Nationalbankdirektører gennem tiderne". Nationalbanken.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 22 March 2026.
- ^ Bankastjórn frá upphafi
- ^ Prime Minister appoints new Governor and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland
External links
- Official website Archived 19 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine (in English)
- Official website (in Icelandic)