The economic recovery in Germany was brought to a standstill in the final quarter of 2020, the Bundesbank writes in its latest Monthly Report, stating that this was due to resurgent infection rates and the tightening of containment measures. Economic activity was consequently still almost 4% down on the pre-crisis level of the fourth quarter of 2019.

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2018, the financial assets of households in Germany stood at €6,016 billion. Compared with the third quarter of 2018, this represents a decrease of just over €28 billion.

The financial assets of households in Germany came to €6,950 billion at the end of 2020, increasing by €211 billion, or 3.1%, compared with the third quarter. With inflows of €74 billion in the fourth quarter, households again mainly built up cash and deposits, followed by claims on insurance corporations (€21 billion) and investment fund shares (€14 billion).

In the second quarter of 2023, households’ financial assets grew by €94 billion, standing at €7,492 billion at the quarter’s end. Following a significant decline in the previous year, this was already the third consecutive quarter-on-quarter increase. Over the second quarter of 2023, households increased their claims by €59 billion and recorded valuation gains of €36 billion.

Der EZB-Rat hat heute beschlossen, die drei Leitzinssätze der EZB um jeweils 25 Basispunkte zu senken. Auf Grundlage unserer aktualisierten Beurteilung der Inflationsaussichten, der Dynamik der zugrunde liegenden Inflation und der Stärke der geldpolitischen Transmission ist es nun angemessen, den Grad der geldpolitischen Straffung zu reduzieren, nachdem die Leitzinsen neun Monate lang unverändert geblieben waren.