Bank of Lithuania

Not to be confused with the list of banks in Lithuania.

The Bank of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos bankas) is the national central bank for Lithuania within the Eurosystem. It was the Lithuanian central bank from 1922 to 2014, albeit with a long suspension between 1940 and 1993. It issued the Lithuanian litas between 1922 and 1940, the Lithuanian talonas in 1991-1993,^{[citation needed]} then a second litas from 1993 to 2014. Since 2015, it has also been Lithuania's national competent authority within European Banking Supervision.^[3]

Bank of Lithuania
Lietuvos bankas (in Lithuanian)

Head office in Vilnius, former seat of Vilnius Land Bank
Headquarters	Vilnius
Coordinates	54°41′10″N 25°17′00″E
Established	27 September 1922 (1922-09-27)[1]
Ownership	100% state ownership[2]
Chairman	Gediminas Šimkus
Central bank of	Lithuania
Reserves	$1.310 billion[2]
Website	lb.lt

History

Interwar period head office building of the Bank of Lithuania in Kaunas, the former temporary capital of Lithuania

The Bank of Lithuania was first established in Kaunas on 27 September 1922.^[1] Its first governor was Vladas Jurgutis.^[1] The first task of the bank was to replace German ostmark and ostrubel, which circulated after the World War I, with the new Lithuanian currency, the litas. The bank's mandate extended beyond a pure monetary authority, as it also entailed a developmental role with the possibility of allocating short-term credit to industry and agriculture.^[4]: 152

In 1931, the bank became a member of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).^[1]

Primary functions

According to the Bank's official website, the Bank of Lithuania performs these primary functions:

• maintaining price stability,
• formulating and implementing the monetary policy,
• acting as an agent of the State Treasury.

As a member of the European System of Central Banks, the Bank of Lithuania participates in the formulation and implementation of the monetary policy of the eurozone.

Bank leadership

Governors of the Bank of Lithuania:^[5]

• Vladas Jurgutis (1922–1929)
• Vladas Stašinskas (1930–1939)
• Juozas Tūbelis (1939)
• Juozas Paknys (1939–1940)

Chairmen of the board of the Bank of Lithuania:^[5]

• Bronius Povilaitis (1990)
• Vilius Baldišis (1990–1993)
• Romualdas Visokavičius (1993)
• Kazys Ratkevičius (1993–1996)
• Reinoldijus Šarkinas (1996–2011)
• Vitas Vasiliauskas (2011–2021)
• Gediminas Šimkus (since 2021)

Management and structure

Aerial view of Bank of Lithuania headquarters in Gediminas Avenue, built for Józef Montwiłł's bank in 1889–1891

The Bank is governed by a board consisting of a chairperson, two deputy chairpersons and two members.

According to The Bank of Lithuania official website, it is managed by Supervision Service; ten departments: Economics, Statistics, Market Operations, International Relations, Payment Systems, Cash, Accounting, Information Technology, General Services and Security; six autonomous divisions (Internal Audit, Legal, Organisation and Personnel, General and Public Relations, Risk Management), and Bank of Lithuania Branches in Kaunas and Klaipėda.

See also

• Economy of Lithuania
• LBCoin
• Lithuanian litas
• Vladas Jurgutis Award
• List of central banks

• Banks portal