Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €8.9 billion in May 2023, down €13.4 billion on the previous month’s level. This was because invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, switched to a deficit. The surplus in the goods account remained virtually unchanged.

This year’s Spring Conference held by the Bundesbank’s Research Centre focused on “Structural changes and the implications for inflation”. A large number of researchers from central banks, universities and other institutions based in Germany and abroad met in Eltville to discuss this topic. Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel spoke in a video message. 

The German banks responding to the Bank Lending Survey (BLS) barely tightened their credit standards for loans to enterprises any further in the second quarter of 2024. They slightly tightened their credit standards for loans to households for house purchase and for consumer credit and other lending to households. Overall, the adjustments were somewhat less than had been planned in the previous quarter.

How did the ECB Governing Council arrive at its new monetary policy operational framework for the Eurosystem? What principles will be followed when implementing monetary policy in the future? Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel addressed these questions at the 55th Konstanz Seminar on monetary theory and monetary policy. 

In April 2023, Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €21.8 billion, down €8.7 billion on the previous month’s level. This was mainly attributable to a smaller goods account surplus. The surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, remained practically unchanged.