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.

According to the most recent bank lending survey, the surveyed banks in Germany changed their lending policy only slightly in the first quarter of 2014.

Despite the rather sluggish global economic momentum in 2012, German investors stepped up their outward primary foreign direct investment (FDI) during this period considerably by €53 billion to just under €1.2 trillion. This occurred mainly by raising equity stakes, including the reinvestment of earnings. Europe was the main focus of Germany’s outward FDI.

In the fourth quarter of 2013, the financial assets of households rose by around €79 billion or 1.6% on the quarter to €5,152 billion by the year-end.The largest part of this increase, at around €47 billion, was the result of valuation gains; the transaction-related acquisition of financial assets amounted to around €32 billion. There was a continuation of the trend towards liquid assets in an ongoing low-interest-rate environment, a trend which has been observed for some time now.

According to provisional calculations, general government debt in Germany as defined in the Maastricht Treaty amounted to €2.147 trillion at the end of 2013.

To mark Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Berlin, the Deutsche Bundesbank and the People's Bank of China (PBoC) have signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the clearing and settlement of payments denominated in the Chinese renminbi in Frankfurt.