The branches of the Bundesbank supply the economy with euro banknotes and coins, and offers private customers the opportunity to exchange D-Mark banknotes and coins free-of-charge and with no fixed deadline.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €34.1 billion in March 2025, up €7.8 billion on the previous month’s level. This was attributable to larger surpluses in the goods account and especially in invisible current transactions, which comprises services as well as primary and secondary income. 

Bundesbank’s external position stood at €853 billion at the end of April 2025, with claims from the TARGET2 payment system worth €1075 billion making up around 71 % of total assets. These are followed by international reserves, comprising gold and foreign exchange reserves, including the special drawing rights allocated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which account for a total of 20 % of assets. At 85 %, issuance of euro cash accounted for the bulk of liabilities. Deposits of non-euro area residents amount to 7 % of foreign liabilities.

It’s no secret that Germany loves cash. However, the pandemic and the new focus on hygiene showed that even in the Federal Republic, cashless payments can also be interesting for payments of less than €10. In Germany, just over 50 % of all payments are currently still settled using cash. In a few years’ time, it should also be possible to pay with the digital euro. Burkhard Balz, Executive Board member at the Deutsche Bundesbank, is jointly responsible for the digital currency project. On the fringes of the Ludwig-Erhard summit, he revealed in an interview with Frankfurter Rundschau what can be expected and why cash lovers actually have reason to be cheerful.

In a joint interview published by the Süddeutsche Zeitung of Germany and El Mundo of Spain, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel and Banco de España Governor José Luis Escrivá discussed the impact of current US policy on the global economy, ECB Governing Council decisions and Germany’s role in the EU. “The new German government has to contribute actively to the further development of the EU and Europe. And I agree with José Luis Escrivá that Germany has to play its part in leading the EU,” Nagel said.

Kapitalpuffer sind wie Stoßdämpfer für das Bankensystem, die die Fahrt über holpriges Terrain erleichtern, schreibt Bundesbank-Vorstandsmitglied Michael Theurer in seinem Gastbeitrag in der FAZ. Sie beizubehalten sei angesichts der unsicheren Aussichten für die Weltwirtschaft und der weiterhin hohen Risiken im Finanzsystem wichtig für die Finanzstabilität.

Am 22. April 2025 beschloss der EZB-Rat nach der jährlichen Überprüfung dieser Verzeichnisse, das Verzeichnis der von der EZB zugelassenen nicht geregelten Märkte und das Verzeichnis der von der EZB anerkannten Institutionen mit öffentlichem Förderauftrag, die für eine Teilnahme am Sicherheitenrahmen des Eurosystems zugelassen sind, unverändert zu belassen.