The September 2014 edition of the Monthly Report discusses general trends and changes in the ownership structure in the German equity market that occurred during the financial crisis and also contains an article on the reform of federal financial relationships. A further article analyses the performance of German credit institutions in 2013.

The consultation of the Deutsche Bundesbank's Executive Board pursuant to section 7 (3) of the Bundesbank Act regarding the nomination of Dr Johannes Beermann as a member of the Deutsche Bundesbank's Executive Board took place on Tuesday.

Germany's net external position stood at €1,204 billion at the end of 2013, and thus amounted to almost 43% of gross domestic product. The German net external asset position rose by €251 billion year-on-year. This increase primarily reflects Germany's current account surplus last year. Unlike in previous years, the increase occurred against the backdrop of declining gross amounts outstanding.

From today, the Deutsche Bundesbank will be issuing €10 banknotes of the second euro banknote series. Following the introduction of the €5 note last year, the €10 note is now the second denomination of the new “Europa” series to be brought into circulation in Germany.

The September 2014 edition of the Monthly Report discusses general trends and changes in the ownership structure in the German equity market that occurred during the financial crisis and also contains an article on the reform of federal financial relationships. A further article analyses the performance of German credit institutions in 2013.

On 9 September 2014 during the annual meeting of the Verein für Socialpolitik, the Carl Menger Prize for economics was awarded for the first time, the recipient being Hélène Rey, an economist at the London Business School.

On 1 February 2015, Emanuel Mönch will take over as Head of the Research Centre of the Deutsche Bundesbank. He will succeed Heinz Herrmann, who is retiring at the start of 2015.

According to the latest Bank Lending Survey, the credit standards of German institutions for lending to non-financial corporations were unchanged in the second quarter of 2014.

In the first quarter of 2014, the financial assets of households rose by €54 billion on the quarter, climbing to €5,207 billion. The transaction-related acquisition of financial assets accounted for a relatively large share of this increase (€49 billion), while valuation gains played only a minor role (just under €5 billion).

Experience has shown that exchange rates can be fairly volatile in times of heightened tension in the international financial markets.

In the first half of 2014, the Bundesbank registered a total of just under 25,000 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €1.5 million. This means that the number of counterfeits was up 27% on the second half of 2013. This equates statistically to six counterfeit banknotes per 10,000 inhabitants. Despite this increase, the number of counterfeit banknotes found in circulation is not a cause for concern.

The Deutsche Bundesbank calculates the basic rate of interest pursuant to section 247 (1) of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch) and publishes its current level in the Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger) pursuant to section 247 (2) of the German Civil Code.

The Deutsche Bundesbank welcomes the decision by the People's Bank of China (PBoC) to designate Bank of China as the renminbi clearing bank for the Frankfurt financial centre.

The Financial Stability Committee (Ausschuss für Finanzstabilität), which was set up last year, presented its first report on financial stability in Germany to the Bundestag on 16 June 2014.

On Tuesday, 3 June, Dr hc Rudolf Böhmler submitted to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany his request to be released from his duties as member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank with effect from the end of 2014. 

Professor Claudia Buch today assumed her office as Deputy President of the Deutsche Bundesbank. At its subsequent meeting, the Bundesbank's Executive Board decided on the following allocation of responsibilities, which will take effect immediately.