“The budgets of the state governments and their local governments shaped up very well in the second year of the coronavirus pandemic,” the Bundesbank writes in its Monthly Report. According to the publication, they recorded an overall surplus of €5 billion in 2021. Despite the favourable state of their finances, state governments made use of emergency borrowing totalling €18 billion under their respective debt brakes. Based on the Bundesbank’s calculations, a large part of these funds was used to top up reserves. It appears that budgetary developments will be favourable this year, too. The Bundesbank sees no need for further emergency borrowing. The positive financial situation will allow state governments to play a part in tackling the energy crisis.

According to the Bundesbank's latest Monthly Report, the first double-digit inflation rate in 70 years and a high degree of uncertainty about energy supply and its costs are weighing significantly on the German economy. In the forthcoming final quarter of 2022 and first quarter of 2023, economic output could therefore fall considerably and Germany be on the brink of a recession. However, the extent of this decline is extremely uncertain, according to the report.

Two areas which may at first seem like two distinct worlds – foreign policy and central banking – are, in fact, bound by a shared mission: the pursuit of stability and international cooperation, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said in New York, where he received a particularly prestigious award: the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) Medal. The FPA awarded this medal in recognition of Mr Nagel’s commitment to responsible international cooperation.