The Bundesbank’s Bank Lending Survey has found that for the third successive time, there was a strong decline in demand for loans to households for house purchase. BLS respondents in the first quarter of 2023 said this was mainly due to increased interest rates, sentiment in the housing market and reduced consumer confidence.

At the end of 2021, Germany’s primary outward foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks were up 8% on the year at €1,506 billion. Stocks of FDI in Germany show a different picture. A decline was recorded for the first time in a long period, with stocks down 2% to €852 billion. At €169 billion, German FDI flows abroad proved robust for 2022, despite being down slightly on the exceptionally high level of the previous year. By contrast, FDI flows from abroad to Germany almost halved to €44 billion.

Climate change and the transition to a climate-neutral economy are also presenting banks with major challenges. On the one hand, extreme weather events can directly impair banks’ loan collateral if, for example, property is destroyed. On the other hand, the transition to a climate-neutral economy can have an indirect impact on banks if the underlying conditions for enterprises change substantially and sometimes unpredictably. Banks need to develop new methods in order to measure and manage the resulting risks. Supervisors will be keeping a close eye on the progress made by banks in this area over the next few years.

Das Bruttoinlandsprodukt (BIP) Deutschlands blieb im ersten Quartal 2023 preis-, saison- und kalenderbereinigt gegenüber dem Vorquartal unverändert (0,0 Prozent), wie das Statische Bundesamt (Destatis) nach ersten Berechnungen mitteilte. Diese Entwicklung folgt einem Rückgang des BIP von -0,5 Prozent im vierten Quartal 2022. Nach Angaben von Destatis verringerten sich zum Jahresbeginn 2023 sowohl die privaten als auch die staatlichen Konsumausgaben. Positive Impulse kamen hingegen von den Investitionen und den Exporten.