Paying with cash or a debit card is the cheapest payment method for consumers in Germany. Cash incurs the lowest costs per payment transaction, while debit cards are cheapest in relation to the amount of money spent. Paying with a credit card is in any case considerably more expensive. These are the conclusions drawn by a study entitled “Costs of cash and card payments from a consumer perspective”, which was carried out on behalf of the Deutsche Bundesbank.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €12.5 billion in October 2024, down €8.8 billion on the previous month’s level. This was caused by the smaller surplus in the goods account and especially by the shift to a deficit in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income.

The National Cash Forum, initiated by the Deutsche Bundesbank in February 2024, has launched a new website to serve as a neutral source of information on all aspects of cash.

The German financial system has weathered the period of exceptionally strongly rising interest rates well overall and remained stable over the past twelve months, too. Interest rates have gone back down in the meantime.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €22.6 billion in September 2024, up €5.5 billion on the previous month’s level. This was caused by the larger surplus in the goods account and especially by the shift to a surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income.

A joint initiative by companies and institutions based in and around Frankfurt’s Bahnhofsviertel – the district surrounding its central railway station – intends to help improve the difficult situation in the area. Known as the BHV corporate initiative (BHV being an acronym for Bahnhofsviertel), it aims to make a positive contribution to the district and support selected social projects through constructive dialogue with the city.

In the second quarter of 2024, German households’ financial assets grew by €136 billion, closing the quarter at €8,815 billion. This represents a new all-time high.

For the first time in nearly three years, the German banks responding to the Bank Lending Survey (BLS) did not tighten their credit standards for loans to enterprises further in the third quarter of 2024, but eased them marginally instead. On the other hand, they once again tightened their credit standards for loans to households for house purchase and for consumer credit and other lending to households For the fourth quarter, banks are planning to tighten their credit standards for loans to enterprises again, partly owing to pessimistic market and economic expectations.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €14.4 billion in August 2024, down €3.3 billion on the previous month’s level. This was chiefly attributable to a smaller goods account surplus.

Implementation in the EU of the Basel III reform package will lead to a 3.3% increase in minimum required capital (MRC) by 2030 for a sample of 36 German financial institutions. The Bundesbank calculated this result in a study based on data from large institutions in particular.

The banking stress test just conducted jointly by BaFin and the Bundesbank has shown that the profitability of small and medium-sized banks and savings banks in Germany improved significantly in 2023. Institutions have emerged from the interest rate reversal with stronger profitability and a higher capital base, and are also prepared for a severe crisis scenario. At a joint press conference in Frankfurt, Raimund Röseler, Chief Executive Director of Banking Supervision at BaFin, and Michael Theurer, the Bundesbank Executive Board member responsible for banking supervision, presented the results of the “LSI stress test”.

At the end of 2023, Germany’s net external assets totalled €2,964 billion, thus amounting to just over 70% of Germany’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP). Overall, both assets and liabilities vis-à-vis non-residents rose further in 2023.

The Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank did not raise any objections to the nomination of Dr Fritzi Köhler-Geib as a member of the Executive Board. The outcome of the consultation has been communicated to the Bundesrat.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €16.0 billion in July 2024, down €4.6 billion on the previous month’s level. This was attributable to a lower goods account surplus and a higher deficit in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income.

The Bundesbank is once again offering the public a glimpse backstage. On 14 and 15 September, the German central bank is hosting an Open Day at its Regional Office in Hesse in Frankfurt’s city centre.

With effect from Monday, 2 September 2024, Dr Sabine Mauderer was appointed First Deputy Governor of the Bundesbank. Furthermore, Lutz Lienenkämper and Michael Theurer joined the Bundesbank’s Executive Board. The responsibilities within the Executive Board have therefore been reallocated. The following reallocation of responsibilities comes into effect

The Bundesbank has now launched the digital exhibition “From Brutus to Brandt – Coins as eyewitness and testament to our past”, which provides insight into the role that coins play as communicators of historical events.

Germany’s current account posted a surplus of € 23.2 billion in June 2024, up € 4.9 billion on the previous month’s level. The goods account surplus decreased, yet the deficit in invisible current transactions narrowed to a far greater extent.