Mounting borrowing at the European level could end up leaving national indicators such as the deficit and debt ratios less informative in the future, the Bundesbank warns in the current issue of its Monthly Report. This is why complete and transparent statistical reporting also needs to be ensured at the European level, the Bank’s experts argue.

Die Europäische Zentralbank hat heute empfohlen, dass Banken äußerste Zurückhaltung bei Dividendenzahlungen und Aktienrückkäufen walten lassen. Zu diesem Zweck hat die EZB alle Banken aufgefordert, in Erwägung zu ziehen, bis zum 30. September 2021 von Dividendenausschüttungen und Aktienrückkäufen abzusehen oder solche Ausschüttungen zu begrenzen.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €22.5 billion in October 2020, down €2.7 billion from the previous month’s level.

The Bundesbank expects the German economy to grow strongly again after a limited setback in the final quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021. According to current projections, real gross domestic product could pick up sharply in the following two years and reach its pre-crisis level again in early 2022. This is predicated on the pandemic containment measures being quickly loosened from spring 2021 and ultimately expiring altogether in the early months of 2022.