Iceland's central bank Seðlabanki Íslands and the Financial Supervisory Authority have officially merged as a single independent institution, according to a Jan. 2 statement.

As part of the change, the central bank will now be responsible for the tasks entrusted by law to the Financial Supervisory Authority.

The central bank, whose operations are housed in two locations, said plans to combine all operations are already underway. In addition, the Financial Supervisory Authority's 120-member staff have joined that of the central bank, bringing its total staff numbers to 290.