Bundesbank Executive Board member Andreas Dombret has asked German banks to step up their efforts in digitalising the industry. German banks should also be making greater investments in IT security in order to protect customer data, he said to an audience of around 700 representatives from banking supervision and the banking industry who attended the Bundesbank's 19th banking symposium in Frankfurt.

To mark its 60th anniversary, the Bundesbank held a high-level symposium in Frankfurt am Main on the future of central banking. Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann highlighted how modern central banking has been shaped by crises, adding that this also applies to the Bundesbank's mandate, which was influenced by the fact that the German population had lost their savings twice in the first half of the 20th century.

In Germany and Europe, established banks are increasingly viewing FinTechs as “partners” rather than competitors, Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz said during a speech in Cape Town. “This is because banks can benefit from the innovative potential of these newcomers, while FinTechs can benefit from the existing customer relations and consumers’ trust in banks.”