The Bundesbank expects the German economy’s boom to continue, although the growth rate of gross domestic product might be distinctly lower in the first quarter of 2018 than in the preceding quarters. This is, the Bank’s economists believe, chiefly attributable to a steep decline in industrial output in February.

Claudia Buch underlines the benefits of a European capital markets union.

Im Februar 2018 wies die Leistungsbilanz des Euro-Währungsgebiets einen Überschuss von 35,1 Mrd € auf. In der Kapitalbilanz kam es bei den Direktinvestitionen und Wertpapieranlagen zusammengenommen per saldo zu einem Anstieg der Forderungen (um 56 Mrd €) und der Verbindlichkeiten (um 9 Mrd €).

Zum Ende des Jahres 2017 belief sich das Geldvermögen der privaten Haushalte in Deutschland auf 5 857 Mrd €. Damit stieg es gegenüber dem dritten Quartal um 78 Mrd € oder 1,4 %.

The Deutsche Bundesbank has unveiled a special exhibition dedicated to gold at its Money Museum. Exhibits include a selection of the most interesting gold bars and coins from the Bundesbank’s collection. The exhibition will be open until 30 September.

Crises tend to occur unexpectedly and are a threat to financial stability. In an op-ed published in the French daily newspaper Le Monde, Claudia Buch explains that, as a result of the financial crisis, banks need to hold more equity capital in order to be more resilient. As the Bundesbank’s number two writes, "Higher equity capital is the key to a resilient financial system".

At the end of 2017, German households’ financial assets amounted to €5,857 billion, up by €78 billion, or 1.4%, on the third quarter of the year.