Governing bodies and capital

The structure of NDF’s governing bodies reflects NDF’s status as an international financial institution owned by the five Nordic countries.

 

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is the key governing body, which makes policy decisions concerning the operations of NDF and approves the financing of projects proposed by NDF’s Managing Director. The Board of Directors also approves the annual budget and is responsible for NDF’s financial statements. The Board of Directors may delegate its powers to the Managing Director to the extent considered appropriate. 

Each member country appoints one member and one alternate to NDF’s  Board of Directors for a term of up to five years. The Board of Directors elects a Chairman and Deputy Chairman for a term of one year at a time. The positions of the chair and the deputy chair rotate among the member countries. The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) has an appointed Observer without the right to vote in the Board of Directors. The General Counsel of NDF serves as Secretary to the Board of Directors.

 

Members of the Board of Directors

Denmark
Anders Ørnemark, Chief Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Alternate: to be nominated 

Finland
Anna Merrifield, Director, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Alternate: Roosa Käsmä, Desk Officer, Climate Finance, Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Iceland
Benedikt Höskuldsson, Special Envoy for Climate
Alternate: Erla Hlín Hjálmarsdóttir, Director, Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Norway
Anne Sofie Bjelland, Senior Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Chair of the Board)
Alternate: To be nominated

Sweden
Henrik Bergquist, Deputy Director, Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Deputy Chair of the Board)
Alternate: To be nominated

Observer
Johan Ljungberg, Senior Director, Nordic Investment Bank

Secretary
Christina Stenvall-Kekkonen, General Counsel, Head of Legal & Administrative Support, NDF

Control Committee 

The Control Committee is NDF’s supervisory body. It ensures that NDF’s operations are conducted in accordance with the Statutes of NDF. The Control Committee is responsible for the audit of NDF and submits its annual audit report to the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The Nordic Council appoints five Nordic parliamentarians to the Committee. The Chairman of the Committee is appointed by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Control Committee appoints two professional external auditors for the purpose of assisting the Committee in carrying out its work and responsibilities. One of the appointed professional auditors is from NDF’s host country (Finland) and one from another member country.

 

Members of the Control Committee

Chairman
Jan-Erik Enestam, Minister, Independent Consultant
 
Denmark
Sjúrður Skaale, Member of Parliament

Finland
Noora Fagerström, Member of Parliament

Iceland
Vilhjálmur Árnason, Member of Parliament

Norway
May Britt Lagesen, Member of Parliament

Sweden
Johan Andersson, Member of Parliament

Auditors appointed by the Control Committee
Ernst & Young Oy, Finland, Responsible Partner Terhi Mäkinen, Authorised Public Accountant
Ernst & Young AB, Sweden, Responsible Partner Mona Alfredsson, Authorised Public Accountant

Secretary to the Control Committee
Christina Stenvall-Kekkonen, General Counsel, Head of Legal & Administrative Support, NDF

 

Nordic Council of Ministers 

The Nordic Council of Ministers (i.e. the five Ministers of Nordic Cooperation) is the body responsible for, among other things, amendments to NDF’s Statutes and capital. The Nordic Council of Ministers also approves the annual report of the Board of Directors and the audited financial statements of NDF.

READ MORe

Capital

NDF’s capital base is provided from the development cooperation budgets of the five Nordic countries. Each member country has subscribed to a certain portion of the capital, calculated according the scheme of allocation for joint Nordic financing between the Nordic countries. The scheme of allocation reflects each Nordic country’s proportion of the Nordic Region’s total gross domestic income at factor cost for the last two calendar years.

The capital of NDF has been increased as follows:
 
1989 SDR* 100 million
1993 SDR 150 million
1996 SDR 265 million
2000 EUR 330 million
2020 EUR 350 million   

100% of the capital committed between 1989 and 2000 has been paid in over time, and the same will apply to the capital committed in 2020. 

The total amount of NDF’s capital and the respective portions of the member countries are set out in the Statutes.

The available liquidity to fund NDF’s operations is the result of paid-in capital, inflows from the portfolio of financed projects and return from treasury operations.

According to NDF’s Liquidity and Investment Management Policy, NDF’s liquid assets should at the beginning of every calendar year cover all its payment obligations for at least twelve months ahead including an additional 20% buffer for unexpected disbursements.

NDF’s accounts are kept in EUR and consequently the financial statements are presented in EUR.

* Special Drawing Rights (SDR) are supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The value of an SDR is based on a basket of key international currencies reviewed by IMF every five years.

Managing Director

The Managing Director is appointed by the Board of Directors for a term of up to five  years at a time. The Managing Director is responsible for the conduct of the current operations of NDF and must follow the guidelines and instructions given by the Board of Directors. The Managing Director is assisted in his or her work by the Management Committee and Project/Investment Committees.

Management Committee

The Management Committee is an advisory body chaired by the Managing Director. The Deputy Managing Director, General Counsel and Directors for Quality Assurance & Reporting, Portfolio Origination & Management and Institutional Development and the Managing Director form the Management Committee.

Staff and location 

NDF employs approximately 20 people, all working at the headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. The NDF headquarters is in the same building complex as the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO).