The Eurosystem’s monetary policy from 2020 was shaped by the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the surge in inflation from 2021. This ultimately led to a series of Eurosystem policy rate hikes totalling 450 basis points (from July 2022 to September 2023).

Between 2021 and 2023, the average amount of wealth per household in Germany grew slightly in nominal terms, but declined in real terms, i.e. when adjusted for inflation. This is the finding of a Bundesbank study that regularly examines household wealth and finances. Nevertheless, net wealth remains at a higher level in both nominal and real terms than in 2017, when the Bundesbank carried out its last survey before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Selected papers by Bundesbank researchers accepted for publication or recently published.

What are households’ expectations? Since 2019, the Deutsche Bundesbank has been investigating this question by surveying households in Germany on a regular basis (Bundesbank Online Panel Households).

Der Median der von den Verbraucherinnen und Verbrauchern in den vergangenen zwölf Monaten wahrgenommenen Inflation blieb unverändert, ebenso ihre Erwartungen für die Inflation in fünf Jahren (die in diesem Monat erstmals gemeldet werden), während der Median ihrer Erwartungen bezüglich der Inflation in den kommenden zwölf Monaten und jener der Erwartungen bezüglich der Inflation in drei Jahren stiegen.

The Eurosystem’s monetary policy measures in the years following the European sovereign debt crisis were shaped, in particular, by a prolonged period in which inflation rates were well below the Eurosystem’s target. Against this backdrop, the ECB Governing Council decided, starting in 2014, to conduct various targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) and launch temporary monetary policy purchase programmes in addition to the existing operational framework.

Closing event for the successful EU twinning project “Support to regulation of financial services” with distinguished guests held in Podgorica, Montenegro during the coronavirus pandemic.

Market risk is the risk of losses in on- and off-balance sheet risk positions arising from movements in market prices. Under the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), credit institutions are required to hold own funds for market risk to cover foreign exchange risk and commodities risk in their non-trading and trading books as well as position risk (risk of positions in debt and equity instruments) in their trading book. They can use either the standardised approach or internal risk models to calculate their market risk.

A lack of data is making it very difficult to estimate probabilities of default. Experts from 13 countries discussed different approaches, from the factoring in of certain variables to the development of algorithms. Only time will tell which of these will win out in practice.