As a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, parents in Germany received a series of transfer payments from the state in 2020 and 2021. This so-called child bonus (“Kinderbonus”) amounted to a total of €450 per child. A new study finds that the child bonus led to only a slight increase in household spending. Therefore, the child bonus should be seen less as a fiscal stimulus measure and more as an instrument of redistribution from the general population to families.

The total number of credit institutions in Germany (including legally dependent building and loan associations) fell by 160 throughout the year to 1,519 institutions. While the consolidation process has been moderate, especially since 2008, it has been gradually picking up the pace again since 2016.

Generelle bankrechtliche Regelungen zur Abwicklung des unbaren Zahlungsverkehrs finden Sie in den Allgemeinen Geschäftsbedingungen der Deutschen Bundesbank.

Climate change has consequences for society, the economy and the financial system, and therefore also has an impact on the core tasks of a central bank. In light of this, the Bundesbank will from now on regularly report on how it takes the financial implications of climate change and climate policy into account in its work.