Latvijas Banka

Latvijas Banka (Bank of Latvia) is Latvia's central bank and unified financial supervisory authority, established in 1922 and headquartered at K. Valdemara iela 2A in Riga's Centrs district, in a landmark building near the Latvian National Opera and the Bastejkalns park along the city canal. On 1 January 2023, Latvijas Banka absorbed the Financial and Capital Market Commission (Finanšu un kapitala tirgus komisija, FKTK) creating a single institution responsible for both monetary policy and financial supervision, with approximately 540 employees. As a member of the Eurosystem since Latvia adopted the euro on 1 January 2014, Latvijas Banka participates in ECB monetary policy decisions and contributes to the Governing Council through Governor Martins Kazaks. The legal department handles institutional law under the Latvijas Bankas likums (Law on the Bank of Latvia), EU institutional and financial regulatory frameworks, banking and financial market supervision under the Credit Institutions Law, insurance regulation, securities markets oversight, AML/CFT supervision, macroprudential policy, payment systems oversight, and economic research. Latvijas Banka also manages Latvia's gold and foreign currency reserves and plays a key role in financial stability assessment.