Domestic enterprises, banks, public authorities and individuals are required to report cross-border equity investments on an annual basis wherever their share of capital or voting rights is 10% or higher and the investment enterprise’s total assets are more than €3 million (or the equivalent thereof if its balance sheet is denominated in another currency).

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann warned that a full-blown trade war between the US and the EU could cost both sides dearly. "The adverse effects might be considerable larger than in case of the trade spat with China“, he said in a speech in New York.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €2.5 billion in May 2022, down €6.4 billion on the previous month’s level. Although the surplus in the goods account increased, this was outweighed by the sharp shift into a deficit for invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €16.2 billion in January 2023, down €9.4 billion on the previous month’s level. 

At the end of December 2022, Germany’s net external assets stood at €2,721 billion, thus amounting to around 70% of nominal gross domestic product (GDP). Both German assets and liabilities vis-à-vis non-residents rose further in 2022.