Approved by the Executive Board on 29 March 2023. Enters into force on 1 April 2023.

1. Area of responsibility

The Governor is responsible for the day-to-day management of Norges Bank’s activities and shall adhere to principles and instructions from the Executive Board. Under the Central Bank Act, day-to-day management shall not include matters that are of an unusual nature or major importance in the context of the activities of the central bank. In this job description, it is assumed that matters of particular importance, of principle significance or of major public interest shall be deliberated by the Executive Board.

Day-to-day management shall not include matters relating exclusively to the day-to-day management of Norges Bank’s management of the Government Pension Fund Global, as they are further delineated in the “Job description for the Chief Executive Officer of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM)”. The Governor’s duties as general manager include common administrative functions (see Appendix 2 for details).

Responsibilities and authorities as general manager

The Governor is accountable to the Executive Board of Norges Bank, except for professional tasks within the remit of the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee[1].

The Governor shall carry out the decisions of the Executive Board and prepare matters for deliberation by the Executive Board (cf Section 2-5, Sub-section 4, of the Central Bank Act), provide necessary information to the Executive Board on matters of importance and see to reporting pursuant to external requirements, internal governance documents and other decisions of the Executive Board. The Governor has similar responsibilities with regard to the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee.

As general manager, the Governor may, within his or her area of responsibility, decide a matter within the remit of the Executive Board by the authority of the Executive Board, or when it is necessary for a decision to be made swiftly, and time and opportunity do not allow the matter to be presented to the Executive Board. The Governor shall inform the Executive Board in writing of the decision as soon as possible (cf Section 2-1, Sub-section 2, of the Central Bank Act). The same applies to matters within the remit of the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee (cf Section 2-8, Sub-section 3, of the Central Bank Act).

The Governor represents Norges Bank externally in matters falling within the scope of his or her responsibilities and may to that extent enter into agreements and legally commit the Bank externally (cf. also “The Executive Board’s principles for signature authority at Norges Bank”).

Governance and planning

The Governor heads the Norges Bank’s Leaderforum (NBLF). The Governor heads the Norges Bank strategic crisis management group.

The Governor is responsible for organising his or her area of responsibility. The organisation shall be cost-efficient and ensure a clear division of work and responsibility and delegation of authority. Delegation of authority shall be documented.

The organisation shall ensure necessary information barriers to protect inside information and other market-sensitive or confidential information, including that employees within the Governor’s area of responsibility shall to the extent possible not have access to such information about the activities at NBIM.

The Governor shall report semi-annually to the Executive Board on the status of the strategy, action plans and the budget.

Personnel and organisational development

The Governor is responsible for organisational development, recruitment and development of all employees within his or her area of responsibility.

The Governor appoints directors and executive directors within his or her area of responsibility, except for the Director of Internal Audit, who is appointed and subject to termination or dismissal by the Executive Board. The Governor requires the consent of the Executive Board prior to appointing, terminating or dismissing the Director of Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC).

The Governor decides termination of employees within his or her area of responsibility, also including decisions on dismissal and suspension. This authority may be delegated, except for executive directors and other employees who report directly to the Governor.

Legal interests

The Governor shall, within his or her area of responsibility, ensure that the legal interests of central banking activities and Norges Bank are protected and pursued.

As a main rule, suspected criminal acts of a serious nature must be reported to the police for potential prosecution. The Governor must inform the NBIM CEO immediately where a suspected criminal act is likely to affect NBIM.

Risk management and compliance

The Governor shall, within his or her area of responsibility, ensure proper risk management and internal control. The Governor shall report semi-annually to the Executive Board on operational risk and compliance.

The Governor must inform the Chief Executive Officer of NBIM about major operational incidents or other issues of importance that may affect NBIM.

Authorities

The authorities of the Governor as chair of the Executive Board and chair of the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee are in pursuance of the Central Bank Act, rules of procedure or any other decisions by these governing bodies.

In addition to the authorities granted by the Executive Board to the Governor in internal governance documents for various areas within his or her remit, the Governor has the authorities appearing in Appendix 1.

3. Common administrative functions

Within the framework laid down in governance documents issued by the Executive Board, including “Job description for the Chief Executive Officer of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM)”, the Governor is responsible for Common administrative functions in accordance with the specification in Appendix 2. The common administrative functions are divided into two categories: shared functions and tailored services. These tasks are organised in Norges Bank Administration.

For these common administrative functions, the Governor is responsible for reporting incidents, risk and risk reduction measures etc to the Executive Board.

For shared functions (statutory tasks and common tasks), the Governor is responsible for making sure that decisions by the Governor are made in consultation with the NBIM CEO.

For tailored services for NBIM from NBA, the Governor is responsible for assisting the NBIM CEO in discharging his or her responsibilities in the ongoing follow-up by setting goals and requirements, following up on deliveries, allocating resources and making priorities within the limits of adopted budgets.

The Governor and NBIM CEO shall have a mutual obligation to share relevant information and competence, and contribute to synergies and cooperation. The Governor shall ensure necessary administrative system support when NBIM is using systems in the Governor’s area of responsibility.

Within the framework of relevant principles issued by the Executive Board, the Governor may approve further guidelines or make decisions in matters pertaining to common administrative functions.

Appendix 1

Specific authorities of the Governor as general manager

Within the framework laid down in relevant governance documents and other decisions by the Executive Board, the Governor has the authority to:

• decide on or petition for relevant prosecution authorities to bring criminal charges in accordance with the rules in other jurisdictions, including delegating such authorities when also permitted under local law,
• file a complaint with the court of conciliation or bring a lawsuit before ordinary courts of law as long as the Executive Board has not conferred this authority on the CEO of NBIM,
• issue individual decisions related to a reporting obligation and coercive fine pursuant to the Regulation related to the implementation of the duty of disclosure under Section 5-3 of the Central Bank Act. This authority may be delegated,
• disclose information on the business affairs of Norges Bank within his or her area of responsibility irrespective of the duty of confidentiality (cf Section 5-2, Sub-section 3, of the Central Bank Act,
• approve the use of personnel policy measures in connection with restructuring and phasing out activities. This authority may be delegated.
• supervise and issue instructions to approved interbank systems (cf Section 2-9 of the Payment Systems Act) and exempt smaller systems from the licensing obligation (cf Section 2-3, second paragraph, of the Payment Systems Act). These authorities may be delegated further,
• issue decisions in individual cases and lay down further rules on the implementation of the “Regulation on the access to borrowing and deposit facilities at Norges Bank”, except for decisions discussed in Section 4, second paragraph, first sentence, which are made by the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee. The Governor may delegate these authorities further to the extent deemed appropriate,
• decide on adjustments to the guidelines for the issuance of commemorative coins that are not a matter of principle, lay down the mandate for and composition of the advisory committee and follow up the list of events drawn up by the committee, including deciding on issuances, or, if applicable, denying applications for issuance,
• decide on minor adjustments to the design of coins. This authority may be delegated,
• grant applications for compensation, set the amount of fees and issue further supplemental rules of procedure pursuant to the “Regulation on compensation for severely damaged, burned or lost banknotes or coins”. The Governor is also granted authority to issue further guidelines for features of more severely damaged banknotes and coins pursuant to the “Regulation on limitations on legal tender”, including illustrations of severely damaged coins”. This authority may be delegated,
• approve the write-off of differences and losses of a non-recurring nature of up to NOK 250 000. This authority may be delegated,
• dispose of or donate art and objects of minor value from the Bank’s collections. This authority may be delegated,
• make financial contributions to charitable purposes of up to NOK 25 000 per year. This authority may be delegated.

Appendix 2

Common administrative functions

Within the framework laid down in governance documents issued by the Executive Board, including “Job description for the Chief Executive Officer of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM)”, the Governor is responsible for the following administrative functions that are common for the whole of Norges Bank. The functions include shared functions (statutory tasks and tasks that are considered appropriate to solve as common tasks) as well as more tailored business-related services:

Property and facility management and service

• Management of Norges Bank’s buildings and offices in Norway. This includes office space strategy, including the strategy for space allocation in the head office,
• Services for employees at the head office, including the canteen, as well as meetings and events,

HR

• Norges Bank’s central employer function. This includes negotiations on collective agreements and wage agreements under these agreements,
• Overall responsibility for introductory program for new employees, and conducting of employee surveys for the whole of Norges Bank,

Information management and specialist library

• Compliance with statutory requirements for central document management pursuant to the Archives Act with regulations and adjacent laws and frameworks,
• Operation of the central archive system and specialist library,

Communication

• Common reporting on matters related to Norges Bank’s operating areas,
• Development of common website, sommon graphic profile and branding and trademark registration,
• Educational Centre, and services related to studio, photo and video,

Security

• Crypto-security, the system for managing classified information in accordance with the Security Act and related technical facilities,
• Common reporting in the area of security where there is a need for coordinated reporting,
• Physical security for Norges Bank’s buildings and offices in Norway,
• Common ICT system for crisis management of physical crises, phone line and services for next of kin and maintenance of the common organisation for physical crises,
• All administrative advisory and support processes for physical security, personnel security, personal protection and travel security for the whole of Norges Bank,

Financial reporting, accounting and procurement

• Norges Bank’s annual report and financial statements, accounting policies, common accounting system and general ledger,
• Proposal to the Executive Board on the overall budget presentation and associated overall reporting for Norges Bank from the Executive Board to the Supervisory Council,
• Invoice management and procurement support for the whole of Norges Bank.

Footnotes

[1] Cf “Rules of procedure for Norges Bank’s Executive Board”, “Rules of procedure for the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee” and “Division of responsibilities between Norges Bank’s Executive Board and the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee”.

This document has been issued in Norwegian, and this is an unofficial translation. In the event of any inconsistency, the Norwegian version shall prevail.