The October 2023 edition of the Monthly Report examines whether German and euro area price competitiveness is favourable. It also describes how state government finances developed in 2022 and finds that, despite large surpluses overall, recourse to emergency loans was extensive in some cases.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann says that sovereign debt in banks' balance sheets needs to be backed by capital, just like private debt. In a speech at Sciences Po in Paris, he added that it is perhaps even more important "to put a lid on banks' exposures to a single sovereign". The large exposure regime "needs to apply to bank lending to sovereigns as well," Mr Weidmann said.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has warned that the budgetary rules in the euro-area countries should not be interpreted too flexibly. Speaking at an event in Biberach, Mr Weidmann said that sound budgets were a key prerequisite for the stability of the single currency, for which every member state was responsible.

Dr. Andreas Dombret, Member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Speech at the 9th Handelsblatt Jahrestagung