Following significant GDP growth in the previous quarter, the German economy is likely to stagnate in the first quarter of 2026 in seasonally adjusted terms, according to the March issue of the Bundesbank’s Monthly Report. Industry’s weak competitive position, continued low capacity utilisation and a lag in the impact of government stimuli are dampening developments. The Middle East conflict is a source of additional burdens, especially as a result of rising energy prices, and these factors are keeping the inflation outlook particularly uncertain at present.

The global economy is under pressure: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the conflicts in the Middle East have heightened geopolitical tensions. Germany, a large open economy with a gross international investment position of over €14 trillion, is particularly affected by this. In the current edition of the Monthly Report, our experts analyse changes in Germany’s external assets against the backdrop of the current geopolitical situation.

Sustainability risks are a growing area of interest for banking supervisors. More and more banks are integrating these ESG risks into their risk processes and lending practices, the Bundesbank writes in its current Monthly Report. Implementation remains a challenge, however, especially in terms of data availability and setting concrete target values for sustainable strategies. Supervisors are calling for further progress to be made in terms of management and preparation of ESG risk plans.

The denominations of euro banknotes embody the shared theme of "Ages and styles of Europe" and represent the architectural styles of seven periods of European cultural history. They have been legal tender in all of the participating European Union member states since 1 January 2002. In addition, the physical appearance of euro banknotes is identical throughout the euro area. The European Central Bank and the national central banks of the Eurosystem began rolling out a second series of euro banknotes in May 2013.

The micro data from wave one and two are available for scientific research projects.