Pursuant to Eurosystem rules, auctions may be used alongside bilateral transactions as a supplementary procedure for specific market segments under the public sector purchase programme (PSPP). Within this framework, the Bundesbank conducts one multi-ISIN auction covering up to 10 securities on the second and fourth Thursday of every month. Advance notice for the auctions is issued on the Friday prior to the relevant auction.

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.

German economic output is likely to have gone up slightly again in the second quarter of 2023, according to the Monthly Report. Private consumption has stabilised after previously having fallen. According to the experts, the fact that the labour market remained in good shape, wages rose sharply and price inflation did not continue to accelerate contributed to this development. Meanwhile, the decline in foreign demand was a drag on industry and the rise in funding costs dampened domestic investment. The Bundesbank is expecting the economy to recover haltingly later in the year.

Vice-President Claudia M. Buch points out that an unexpected economic downturn could be amplified if the banking sector deleverages to maintain capital ratios. Hence, “banks must maintain capital buffers designed to absorb losses and thereby stabilizing lending”, Buch stated at an event in Dublin. 

Cash is a quick and cheap means of payment in the German retail trade sector. On average, cash payments take just over 22 seconds and cost around 24 cent per transaction, according to a study on the costs of cash payments in the retail trade sector which the Deutsche Bundesbank carried out in cooperation with EHI Retail Institute.