In 2020, the Bundesbank registered approximately 58,800 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €2.9 million in German payments. The number of counterfeits thus rose by 6.5% on the year, while the nominal value of the banknotes seized fell by 14.3%.

Economic activity in Germany has slowed down significantly. Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meeting in Washington, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann noted that economic growth in 2019 will lag far behind potential output growth of 1.5%.

Economic output in Germany could have contracted again slightly in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the second quarter. According to the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report, this is due to continued weakness in export-based industry. By contrast, the domestic economy continued to provide impetus.

In the first half of 2020, the Bundesbank recorded approximately 34,000 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €1.6 million. Although this means that the number of counterfeits rose significantly on the year, their volume remained low overall.

In the Bundesbank’s estimation, the German economy recorded only modest growth in the final quarter of 2018. Disappointing industrial developments, in particular, meant that the pace of growth probably did not match that of the first half of the year, the Bank's economists write in the current issue of the Monthly Report.

The German economy saw only marginal growth in the third quarter of 2019. According to the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report, this persistently weak growth – gross domestic product (GDP) was up by 0.1% on the preceding quarter – was due to the ongoing sluggishness in the export-oriented industrial sector.

Economic output in Germany dipped slightly in the second quarter of 2019. The Bundesbank’s current Monthly Report states that this was primarily due to ongoing weakness in export-oriented industry.

The German economy grew moderately in the first quarter of 2019. However, in the Bundesbank’s assessment, the still positive development was largely attributable to one-off effects. The Bundesbank's economists write that the already booming construction sector profited further from the favourable weather in February, for example.

Laut der Umfrage zum Kreditgeschäft im Euro-Währungsgebiet vom Januar 2021 wurden die Kreditrichtlinien im vierten Quartal 2020 über alle Kategorien hinweg – also für Unternehmenskredite, Wohnungsbaukredite an private Haushalte sowie Konsumentenkredite und sonstige Kredite an private Haushalte – verschärft. 

“German economic output underwent a massive decline in the first quarter of 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to contain it,” the Bundesbank notes in the current issue of the Monthly Report. Since these measures were still in place in April and substantial restrictions are likely to persist in spite of an easing in some cases, the experts expect economic output in the second quarter to be significantly lower still.

In 2018, the Bundesbank registered approximately 58,000 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €3.4 million, representing a 20% decrease year on year. Statistically, this equates to seven counterfeit banknotes per 10,000 inhabitants.

Although the economic upswing in Germany is essentially still intact, it may have come to a temporary halt in the third quarter of 2018. According to the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report, this was mainly due to a substantial fall in production by car manufacturers.

The Bundesbank registered approximately 55,200 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €3.3 million in 2019, representing a 5% decrease on the year. Statistically, this equates to seven counterfeit banknotes per 10,000 inhabitants.

In the first half of 2019, the Bundesbank recorded approximately 27,600 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €1.6 million.

Economic output in Germany dipped slightly in the third quarter of 2018. As the Deutsche Bundesbank's latest Monthly Report explains, this was caused by one-off factors. “Despite these temporary one-off effects, the economic boom in Germany continues,” write the Bundesbank’s economists.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has spoken out in favour of eliminating the red tape involved in setting up a business. At a speech in Düsseldorf, Mr Weidmann pointed out that “reforms to make it easier for start-ups to enter the market would also enhance competition and spur innovative power.”

The German economy did not grow as quickly in the first quarter of 2018 as it did in the last three months of 2017. While the Bundesbank expects the underlying economic boom to continue in spite of the dip in growth, its economists concede in the May Monthly Report that "the underlying cyclical trend may well have decelerated unexpectedly quickly to a pace of growth that is now only slightly above potential growth."

Carl-Ludwig Thiele, Mitglied des Vorstands der Deutschen Bundesbank, Begrüßung zum Zahlungsverkehrs-Symposium der Bundesbank

The Bundesbank registered approximately 55,200 counterfeit euro banknotes with a value of €3.3 million in 2019, representing a 5% decrease on the year.

Brisk industrial activity kept Germany’s economy on a strongly expansionary path in the third quarter of 2017, and growth looks set to remain buoyant in the fourth quarter. The Bundesbank’s experts, writing in the latest Monthly Report, put this assessment down to the record-high sentiment in trade and industry, the excellent order situation in industry, and what remains a high level of consumer confidence.

The German economy got off to a good start in 2019. Real gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2019 was up 0.4% on the quarter. However, one-off effects played an important role in this, as revealed by the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report.

In the first half of 2019, the Bundesbank recorded approximately 27,600 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €1.6 million. Thus, although the incidence of counterfeiting was up compared to the second half of 2018, it is still low overall.

In the first half of 2018, the Bundesbank recorded approximately 31,100 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €1.8 million. The number of counterfeits fell by 6.2 % compared with the second half of 2017. Statistically, this equates to around seven counterfeit banknotes for every 10,000 inhabitants per year

Germany's economy grew strongly at the start of 2016, the Bundesbank writes in its latest Monthly Report. Exports had recovered from a lull to join private consumption and construction activity in propelling activity.

In 2018, the Bundesbank identified approximately 58,000 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €3.4 million, representing a 20% decrease on the previous year.

In 2017, the Bundesbank registered approximately 73,000 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €4.1 million, which represents an 11% decrease year on year. Statistically, this equates to nine counterfeit banknotes per 10,000 inhabitants.

Die Europäische Zentralbank, Europol und die Europäische Kommission veranstalteten vom 24. bis 27. März 2015 gemeinsam die dritte internationale Konferenz zum Schutz des Euro gegen Geldfälschung. Dabei handelte es sich um die erste Veranstaltung dieser Art, die am neuen Standort der EZB stattfand.

In the first half of 2018, the Bundesbank registered approximately 31,100 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €1.8 million – 6.2% fewer than in the previous six months. The most frequently counterfeited denomination was the €50 banknote.

In 2017, the Bundesbank registered around 73,000 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €4.1 million – 11% fewer than in the previous year. The number of counterfeit €20 banknotes declined in particular.

In the first half of 2017, the Bundesbank registered approximately 39,700 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €2.2 million. The number of counterfeits rose by 8.7% compared with the second half of 2016. Statistically, this equates to around ten counterfeit banknotes per 10,000 inhabitants in Germany per year.

In the first half of 2017, the Bundesbank registered around 39,700 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €2.2 million – 8.7% more than in the second half of 2016. The most frequently counterfeited denomination was the €50 banknote.

In 2016, the Deutsche Bundesbank registered approximately 82,200 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €4.2 million, which represents a 14 % decrease year on year. Statistically, this equates to ten counterfeit banknotes per 10,000 inhabitants.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann believes that abolishing cash is not the right means of stimulating the sluggish economy in some euro-area countries. At the Bundesbank’s payments symposium, Weidmann stated that the decisive factor was to address weak economic growth.

The Bundesbank registered approximately 63,000 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €3.3 million in 2014, which represents a 63 % increase year on year. Statistically, this equates to eight counterfeit banknotes per 10,000 inhabitants.

In the first half of 2016, the Bundesbank recorded approximately 45,700 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €2.3 million. This means that the number of counterfeits rose slightly (by 1.7%) compared with the second half of 2015. Statistically, this equates to around 11 counterfeit banknotes per 10,000 inhabitants in Germany per year.

Was kostet es, eine Zahlung zu tätigen? Die Europäische Zentralbank (EZB) veröffentlicht heute einen Bericht, in dem die bei Massenzahlungen anfallenden volkswirtschaftlichen und privaten Kosten untersucht werden.