The Deutsche Bundesbank posted a profit of €664 million for the financial year 2012 compared with €643 million in 2011. This was paid over in full to the Federal Government on 12 March 2013 pursuant to section 27 number 2 of the Bundesbank Act.

Frankfurt-based Lehman Brothers Bankhaus AG (LBB) settled its monetary policy transactions with the Eurosystem (the organisation comprising the European Central Bank and the euro area’s national central banks) via the Bundesbank.

The statistics on investment funds provide up-to-date information for examining the income and financial flows in the German economy and determining Germany’s cross-border capital links. They also deliver important indications on investment behaviour and on changes in investors’ risk appetite.

Credit standards for lending to non-financial corporations in Germany have been tightened slightly, according to the latest survey findings in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The financial assets of households rose by €64 billion, or 1.3%, on the previous quarter to €4,871 billion by the end of the third quarter.

The Deutsche Bundesbank has shelved a prospective cooperative venture with the Central Bank of Bangladesh regarding counterfeit prevention until further notice. This decision was triggered by press reports that Bangladesh is planning to threaten to impose the death penalty for serious cases of counterfeiting.

By 2020, the Bundesbank intends to store half of Germany’s gold reserves in its own vaults in Germany. The other half will remain in storage at its partner central banks in New York and London

In 2012, the Bundesbank detected approximately 41,500 counterfeit euro banknotes. This means that the number of counterfeits rose – albeit from a low level (2011: 39,000) – by around 6.4% on the year.

The European sovereign debt crisis remains the greatest threat to financial stability in Germany. The Bundesbank considers that a substantial worsening of the situation would have a significant adverse impact on German banks and insurers. In addition, low interest rates, high liquidity and potential exaggerations in the German real estate market could pose a future threat to financial stability.

German banks’ lending in the third quarter of 2012 was characterised by restrictive adjustments, according to the Bundesbank’s latest survey findings.

Selected results of the financial accounts by sector