Germany’s economic substance and its pool of talent and entrepreneurial spirit are immense – these are qualities we can build on, Joachim Nagel stressed in an interview with the “Goslarsche Zeitung” newspaper to mark his speech at the 44th “Goslarsches Pancket”, a social gathering in the historic town of Goslar. Coming together and sharing views was more important than ever right now, given the significant uncertainty caused by the war in the Middle East, the Bundesbank President said. By pulling together, he argued, Europe could make the most of opportunities and thus emerge stronger from this difficult spell.

On 13 March 2024, the ECB Governing Council decided on changes to the operational framework for implementing monetary policy. These changes will affect how central bank liquidity will be provided as excess liquidity in the banking system, while remaining significant over the coming years, gradually declines.

The monetary policy turnaround shaped the Bundesbank’s balance sheet last year. The profit and loss account for 2022 reported a distributable profit of zero. This result was achieved by tapping €1 billion worth of risk provisions. As in the previous years, no profit was transferred to the Federal budget. “The Bundesbank sustained exceptional financial burdens in 2022,” Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said at the joint press conference with Executive Board member Joachim Wuermeling.