The Bank for International Settlements writes in its Annual Report that there is an urgent need to shift the global economy to a more robust, balanced and sustainable expansion. Prudential, fiscal and structural policies must come to the fore, the BIS says.

The Bundesbank is not distributing a profit to the Federal Government for 2020 – for the first time since 1979. The main reason was the greater level of risk provisioning, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann explained at the press conference to present the annual accounts in Frankfurt am Main. In the previous year, the Bundesbank distributed a profit of €5.9 billion. On the whole, the emergency monetary policy measures taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic are having a noticeable impact on the Bundesbank’s balance sheet. 

The Bundesbank posted a profit of € 2.5 billion for the 2018 financial year, representing a year-on-year increase of € 0.5 billion. This increase was due to higher interest income, noted Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann.

The Deutsche Bundesbank has presented a balanced result for the year 2021. As in the previous year, the Bank is not transferring any profit to the Federal budget. Explaining this decision, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said it was necessary to further increase the risk provisions on account of the emergency monetary policy measures taken to counter the impact of the pandemic

As in 2021, the Bundesbank is unable to transfer any profit to the Federal budget this year. One key reason for this was the need to further increase the Bank’s risk provisions, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel explained. “In the years 2020 and 2021, the risks on our balance sheet increased substantially overall compared with the pre-pandemic period,” he said. Commenting on the war in Ukraine, the Bundesbank President expressed his shock. “Our thoughts are with the people in Ukraine and the suffering they are enduring under this aggression.”

Last year, the Bundesbank’s annual accounts were shaped by the increase in the key interest rates. For the 2023 financial year, the Bundesbank reports a balanced financial result because it was able to use its financial buffers to cushion burdens in the double-digit billions. To this end, the Bundesbank released its risk provisions in full and reduced its reserves. We expect the burdens to be considerable again for the current year. They are likely to exceed the remaining reserves, said Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel at the press conference presenting the Bundesbank’s annual accounts