Die Summe der Aktiva der Kreditinstitute mit Sitz in der EU erhöhte sich von 29,44 Billionen € im Dezember 2020 auf 30,44 Billionen € im Dezember 2021.

Demographic developments will put the finances of the pension insurance scheme under pressure in future. The Bundesbank’s experts present long-term simulations on this topic in the current Monthly Report. These simulations illustrate how the government plans to achieve a permanently stable replacement rate of 48% would affect the pension contribution rate and the federal budget. They also show the effects of two reform options on the replacement rate, the contribution rate and the federal budget. Both options are international standard practice. One ties pensions in payment to inflation, whilst the other links the retirement age to rising life expectancy.

The Bundesbank notes in its current Monthly Report that inflation pushes up the tax burden on real incomes. While government regularly adjusts the income tax scale, meaning that this effect – known as bracket creep – has been more or less offset in the past, the procedure used at present involves a time lag and is prone to estimation errors. The Bundesbank therefore recommends switching to a more timely and targeted procedure.