After adjustment for special factors in 2021, the consolidation process in the German banking sector, which has been going on for many years now, continued in 2022. Over the course of the year, the overall number of credit institutions fell by 61 (160 in the previous year) to 1,458.

Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel believes that a further rise in interest rates will be necessary. Be that as it may, he told the audience at the Bundesbank symposium “Banking supervision in dialogue”, how high they still need to go was impossible to say at this point in time – it would depend on how on inflation developed, which he saw as being highly uncertain. Bundesbank Vice-President Claudia Buch referred to the many challenges for banks posed by the trends of digitalisation, demographics, decarbonisation and deglobalisation. BaFin President Mark Branson warned of greenwashing in the financial sector.

Verglichen mit April 2023 haben sich die Erwartungen der Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher wie folgt entwickelt.

Der gewichtete Indikator der Kreditfinanzierungskosten für neue Kredite an Unternehmen stieg um 18 Basispunkte auf 4,57 % und der entsprechende Indikator für neue Wohnungsbaukredite an private Haushalte um 10 Basispunkte auf 3,58 %; maßgeblich hierfür war in beiden Fällen der Zinseffekt.