Against the backdrop of declining infection numbers and expiring legal requirements and measures, coronavirus-related protective measures, such as distance rules or general mask requirements, will end on 31 May 2022.

Germany’s small and medium-sized banks and savings banks are well-capitalised for the most part, according to the results of the LSI stress test and a joint BaFin-Bundesbank survey. Credit institutions’ profitability was low, however, and an economic downturn would add to the pressure on their earnings position, Joachim Wuermeling and Raimund Röseler explained at a joint press conference, though the interest rate reversal may provide some relief for institutions in the medium term, they added. 

At the end of December 2021, Germany’s net external assets stood at €2,545 billion, thus amounting to around 71% of nominal gross domestic product (GDP). Both German claims and liabilities vis-à-vis non-residents continued to rise in 2021.