In the first quarter of 2023, households’ financial assets grew by €146 billion, standing at €7,393 billion at the quarter’s end. Following the declines in the first three quarters of 2022, the financial assets appear to be following the upward trend of the fourth quarter of 2022.

The current Monthly Report explores the factors influencing payment flows to and from Germany and how the banking system ensures that the required payments take place. The Bundesbank’s experts are in favour of excess liquidity being scaled back by the Eurosystem in the coming years to a point where the private interbank market can regain importance in the European payments space.

Im Mai 2023 wies die Leistungsbilanz einen Überschuss von 9 Mrd. € auf (nach einem Plus von 4 Mrd. € im Vormonat).

How might payments in the financial industry be made in future? The latest edition of the Bundesbank’s Monthly Report outlines various possible options in a world in which distributed ledger technology (DLT) is increasingly being used to settle transactions between banks. Central bank money must remain the number one choice for large-value payments, according to the Bank’s experts, though that does not necessarily mean that central bank digital currency needs to be provided directly in a DLT network setup. Nor does it entirely rule out the use of other forms of money. 

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.

This study examines the costs incurred by the use of cash and cashless payment methods in brick-and-mortar retail and related industries.

Auch in dieser Woche geht es noch einmal um den digitalen Euro. In der letzten Folge hat Moderatorin Sarah erklärt, warum es einen digitalen Euro geben soll und wann er eingeführt werden könnte. Aber für wen ist eigentlich der digitale Euro? In dieser Folge schaut sich Yannick mal genauer an, welche Vorteile der digitale Euro haben würde und was Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher damit alles machen können sollen. Mit dem digitalen Euro könnten die Nutzer*innen zum Beispiel online bezahlen, Freunden Geld schicken und das alles kostenlos und sicher. Das erklärt Yannick kurz und knapp in der Rubrik 20 Sekunden. Die Zahl der Woche ist diesmal die 2028. Kleiner Tipp, damit ist das Jahr gemeint. 

The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors are set to meet in Gandhinagar, India, from 17 to 18 July. Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel will attend the two-day meeting, which will focus on issues including the current situation in the global economy, sustainability in the financial system and the regulation of crypto-assets.