Fledgling businesses often will not know whether their business model needs to be authorised pursuant to the Banking Act or the Payment Services Oversight Act, which is why they are invited to discuss any issues which might arise in this regard with staff at the Bundesbank's Regional Offices and Central Office.

The average inflation expectations of households in Germany for the next 12 months remained at 2.9 % in January, as in the previous two months. In response to a qualitative question on inflation rate developments, the share of households expecting inflation rates to rise during this period declined by 4 percentage points on the previous month to 47 %. Average expectations for the inflation rate in three years’ time declined in January, dropping by 0.1 percentage point to 3.2 %. Expectations for average inflation over the next five years also decreased by 0.1 percentage point, from 3.4 % in December to 3.3 % in January.

Bulgaria introduced the euro on 1 January 2026, replacing the Bulgarian lev (BGN). Bulgaria’s accession has brought the number of euro area Member States to 21. The last country to join before that was Croatia in 2023. 

Bundesbank’s external position stood at €932 billion at the end of January 2026, with claims from the TARGET2 payment system worth €1033 billion making up around 64 % of total assets. These are followed by international reserves, comprising gold and foreign exchange reserves, including the special drawing rights allocated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which account for a total of 28 % of assets. At 86 %, issuance of euro cash accounted for the bulk of liabilities. Deposits of non-euro area residents amount to 7 % of foreign liabilities.

“The digital euro will make us more independent and more resilient,” Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said in an interview with the “Tagesspiegel” newspaper. A combination of cash and the digital euro will equip Germany best for the future and for critical situations. Nagel also used the interview to discuss the effects of US tariff policy and the opportunity it might present for Europe as an investment location.

For non-business clients, the Bundesbank offers cash-related services for the settlement of small-scale transactions. However, given that the minimum requirements applicable for transactions effected by business clients do not apply to business clients, the range of cash-related services available to these customers is restricted.

Die Finanzsanktionen gegen bestimmte Personen, Organisationen und Einrichtungen angesichts der Lage in Tunesien dienen der Durchführung von Maßnahmen der Europäischen Union.

German banks tightened their credit standards for loans to enterprises in the fourth quarter of 2025 to an extent not seen since 2023. This is revealed by the Bundesbank's most recent round of the Bank Lending Survey. The banks pointed to the renewed rise in credit risk as the reason for this tightening.

Die Finanzsanktionen gegen den Sudan dienen der Durchführung von Maßnahmen des Sicherheitsrats der Vereinten Nationen sowie der Europäischen Union.

In an interview with FOCUS online, Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz explains why the digital euro is necessary and the challenges involved. Our objective as Eurosystem central banks is to launch a pilot operation in mid-2027. As before, we still expect the digital euro to go live in 2029, Mr Balz said.

Since November 2024
Member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank

What requirements do I have to fulfil and how do I apply? You can find the answers to your questions here.

While the charts on the other webpages of this study illustrate the results of regularly asked core questions, here we show charts on an ad hoc basis mainly relating to special questions for research projects or policy advice.

In January, households in Germany expected real estate prices in their region to rise by an average of 5.4 % over the next 12 months, which represents an increase of 0.4 percentage point compared with the previous month. When asked about their qualitative expectations in January, 63 % of households expected real estate prices to increase and 5 % expected them to decrease during this period (previous month: 62 % and 7 %, respectively).

The Deutsche Bundesbank conducts regular surveys of households’ expectations for unemployment, economic growth, rent prices, real estate prices, and interest rates on savings and loans. These data are used to calculate index figures, from which corresponding trends can be easily derived.

In January, households expected an average increase in their monthly net household income of around €40 over the next 12 months. This is the lowest value since January 2025. Expectations still vary significantly when broken down by factors such as household income, gender, and age group. The median remained constant, at €125. This can be explained by the fact that a large share of households has considered income growth of between €0 and €250 to be most likely each month since this survey was launched.

Mit „Bits & Bargeld“ möchte die Bundesbank mit der Gesellschaft in Dialog treten. Besuchen Sie unsere Veranstaltungen in verschiedenen Städten Deutschlands.

Die aggregierte Summe der Aktiva der Kreditinstitute mit Sitz in der EU erhöhte sich von 33,12 Bio. € im September 2024 auf 33,44 Bio. € im September 2025, was einer Zunahme um 0,95 % entspricht.

The Deutsche Bundesbank does not conduct transactions (purchase, vending, etc.) in foreign currencies (banknotes and coins) and precious metals with the general public (including credit institutions).

International trade in services refers to the exchange of intangible services such as financial services, tourism or IT between countries. Unlike in goods trade, no physical goods are exchanged. Globalisation, technological developments and the opening-up of markets have greatly increased its importance.

Am deutschen Rentenmarkt war die Emissionstätigkeit im Dezember 2025 – wie häufig zum Ende eines Jahres – schwächer als im Vormonat. Insgesamt wurden inländische Schuldverschreibungen für 55,9 Mrd € emittiert, verglichen mit 106,3 Mrd € im November. Nach Abzug der gegenüber dem Vormonat höheren Tilgungen und unter Berücksichtigung der Eigenbestandsveränderungen der Emittenten verringerte sich der Umlauf heimischer Rentenwerte um 26,4 Mrd €. Daneben sank der Umlauf ausländischer Schuldverschreibungen in Deutschland im Dezember um 7,6 Mrd €, sodass im Ergebnis 33,9 Mrd € an die Anleger zurückflossen.

German enterprises constitute net debtors vis-à-vis non-residents: Standing at €1854 billion at the end of December 2025, their liabilities arising from financial operations and trade credits, exceeded their corresponding assets of €1575 billion by €279 billion. Compared with the previous month, this is a change of − €7 billion.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €16.1 billion in December 2025, up €1.9 billion on the previous month’s level. Although the surplus in the goods account decreased, the surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, increased more strongly.

The Research Centre organises a range of events for Bundesbank researchers. Usually there is a seminar every Wednesday from 11 to 12:15 PM.

The world order is shifting with unprecedented force – and not just since this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos. For the European Union, which has developed a number of military, digital and economic dependencies, there is a great deal at stake.

“In a globally interconnected world, autonomy is an illusion,” Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel told the German “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” newspaper. But even so, Europe still needed to invest in certain areas in order to become more independent. Interviewed jointly with Martin Kocher, Governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, they also spoke about the debt ratios of euro area countries, proposals for fiscal consolidation, and central bank independence.

Die Aufsicht über Kredit- und Finanzdienstleistungsinstitute übt die Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht in Zusammenarbeit mit der Deutschen Bundesbank aus.

In T2 there are two regular releases scheduled per year – one on the second weekend of June and one on the third weekend of November. The dates are synchronised with the releases in T2S (June and November). The respective release notes for the production and test environment can be found here.

Die Zukunftsgerichtete Informationen lassen nach wie vor erwarten, dass sich das Wachstum der Tariflöhne bis Ende 2026 bei unter 3 % einpendeln wird. Der Wage Tracker der EZB mit ungeglätteten Einmalzahlungen liegt für 2025 bei 3,0 % und für 2026 bei 2,7 %.

In TIPS there are two regular releases scheduled per year – one following the second weekend of June and one following the third weekend of November. The dates have been coordinated with the releases in the other TARGET Services. This area contains information on the content as well as milestone planning of the releases.

Der EZB-Rat hat heute beschlossen, die drei Leitzinssätze der EZB unverändert zu belassen. Seine
aktualisierte Beurteilung bestätigt erneut, dass sich die Inflation auf mittlere Sicht bei seinem Zielwert
von 2 % stabilisieren dürfte.