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.

Topics: Germany’s balance of payments in 2013, Shadow banking in the euro area: outline and monetary policy implications, Manufacturing enterprises in Germany: their vulnerability to crises ̶ findings of a risk analysis using year-end data

New figures for February show that the majority of businesses have completed the migration to SEPA. "Nevertheless, more bank customers than expected are making use of the additional transition period until 1 August 2014," said Carl-Ludwig Thiele, Member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, regarding the status of the migration to SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) in Germany.

The Bundesbank posted a profit of €4.6 billion for the 2013 financial year, after recording a surplus of €664 million in 2012. This amount was transferred in full today to the Federal Government of Germany pursuant to section 27 number 2 of the Bundesbank Act (Bundesbankgesetz).

The consultation of the Deutsche Bundesbank's Executive Board pursuant to section 7 (3) of the Bundesbank Act regarding the nomination of Professor Claudia M Buch as Deputy President of the Deutsche Bundesbank took place on Tuesday.

On 27 and 28 February 2014, the Bundesbank will be hosting a two-day symposium with high-level academics, policymakers, business representatives and central bankers on "Financial Stability and the Role of Central Banks" in Frankfurt am Main.

The credit standards of German institutions for lending to non-financial corporations underwent very little change in the fourth quarter of 2013. This was revealed by the latest round of the Bank Lending Survey.

The Deutsche Bundesbank, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) have joined forces to found a prize for efforts in the field of economics.

The European Commission has proposed that payment service providers may continue accepting credit transfers and direct debits in the national format until 1 August 2014. This would postpone the end date for SEPA by six months. The proposal can only enter into force once it has been endorsed by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. 

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 German economy has picked up momentum. Aggregate output is expanding at a faster pace again after an interruption due to the escalation of the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area. The driving forces are changing, however. While external impulses had the upper hand following the economic and financial crisis, domestic economic activity has come to fore recently.

Low interest rates and an ample supply of central bank liquidity have helped to ease the tensions on the international financial markets. So far this year, the German financial system has also benefited from this situation. However, the Bundesbank believes that these exceptional financial conditions present risks to financial stability the longer they prevail.