The year 2022 marks the centenary of the establishment of the Bank of Lithuania, the central bank of the Republic of Lithuania. The Bank of Lithuania strengthens the stability of the country’s financial sector, actively acts as a centre of excellence in financial and economic issues, promotes competition in the payment services market and searches for new forms of supervision of financial institutions. As part of the Eurosystem, we cooperate with the European Central Bank and other euro area central banks to make decisions on the euro area monetary policy and its implementation.
Re-established on 1 March 1990, the Bank of Lithuania continues the traditions of the country’s central bank that operated during the interwar period. Plans to establish a bank of issue in Lithuania and to introduce national money began to be made immediately after the restoration of statehood in 1918, however due to the difficult financial situation of the State, the Bank of Lithuania commenced its activities only in 1922. The laws on the currency unit and on the Bank of Lithuania were passed on 9 and 11 August 1922 respectively, the Bank was officially established on 27 September 1922 and commenced its activities on 2 October. The founder of the Bank was the Government. The primary objective of the Bank of Lithuania was to regulate currency circulation, facilitate cash withdrawals, develop a sound and sustainable monetary system as well as foster the development of agriculture, industry and trade. The Bank was granted the right to issue banknotes for the period of 20 years, it could also carry out state treasury and saving bank operations, distribute and redeem the State’s loan sheets, provide commercial credit, etc. Vladas Jurgutis (1885-1966) became the first Governor of the Bank of Lithuania. The representative building of the Bank of Lithuania at the intersection of K. Donelaičio and Maironio streets in Kaunas was built 6 years after the Bank’s establishment, specifically to meet the needs of the central bank.
Today, the mission of the Bank of Lithuania is to bring benefit to society. To accomplish this mission, we have brought together highly qualified staff and the necessary financial and technological resources. We have a clear vision of what our organisation should be like in the near future. The work of our staff, anchored by the institution’s core values, not only brings benefit to society, but also contributes to enhancing the trust of the people of Lithuania in the national central bank and the domestic financial system as a whole. The Bank of Lithuania currently employs more than 600 members of staff and is headed by Gediminas Šimkus as of April 2021.
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