The National Cash Forum has been established on the initiative of the Bundesbank, the being, as Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz put it, to preserve cash as an efficient and widely used means of payment in a changing payment landscape. The forum will facilitate close dialogue between the associations of the banking industry, retail trade, consumer protection, the CIT industry, vending machine operators and the Bundesbank. The industry is set to meet here at least once a year. 

The Deutsche Bundesbank and the Banque de France, six national central banks of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the European Central Bank (ECB) have today launched a programme funded by the European Union (EU) with the aim of contributing to the macroeconomic and financial stability of African countries.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €31.4 billion in December 2023, up €0.9 billion on the previous month’s level. While the surplus in the goods account decreased, the surplus in in-visible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, ex-perienced a stronger increase. 

In 2023, the Bundesbank registered more counterfeit money in Germany than in the previous year. In total, there were around 56,600 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €5.1 million. “The increase in counterfeit figures was driven by a handful of major cases of fraud, predominantly involving counterfeit €200 and €500 banknotes,” stated Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz. Overall, the incidence of counterfeiting is still low and the risk to members of the public remains small, he said.

Having risen in the previous three quarters, households’ financial assets fell by €35 billion in the third quarter of 2023, standing at €7,467 billion at the end of the quarter. 

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €30.8 billion in November 2023, up €10.8 billion on the previous month’s level. This was primarily caused by the shift into a surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income. Moreover, the surplus in the goods account increased.

The Distributional Wealth Accounts (DWA) represent a new experimental dataset that combines two data perspectives.

The Deutsche Bundesbank calculates the basic rate of interest in pursuant to statutory requirements and publishes its current level in the Federal

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €21.4 billion in October 2023, down €6.6 billion on the previous month’s level.

The macroeconomic environment is being shaped by the interest rate reversal and heightened uncertainty. So far, the German financial system has coped well with the rise in interest rates over the last year, but the effects of this rise have not yet fully materialised. Structural change in the economy is also likely to further increase credit risk.

Die deutsche Leistungsbilanz verzeichnete im September 2023 einen Überschuss von 28,1 Mrd €. Das Ergebnis lag um 5,3 Mrd € über dem Niveau des Vormonats. 

In the second quarter of 2023, households’ financial assets grew by €94 billion, standing at €7,492 billion at the quarter’s end. Following a significant decline in the previous year, this was already the third consecutive quarter-on-quarter increase. Over the second quarter of 2023, households increased their claims by €59 billion and recorded valuation gains of €36 billion.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €16.6 billion in August 2023, down €2.2 billion on the previous month’s level. While the balance in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, moved into positive territory, there was a sharper decline in the surplus in the goods account.

A secure communication channel designed to protect financial data against future threats from quantum computers has been successfully established by the BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre and its Eurosystem partners, Banque de France and Deutsche Bundesbank.

At the end of December 2022, Germany’s net external assets stood at €2,721 billion, thus amounting to around 70% of nominal gross domestic product (GDP). Both German assets and liabilities vis-à-vis non-residents rose further in 2022.

Germany’s current account posted a surplus of €18.7 billion in July 2023, down €9.7 billion on the previous month’s level. This decrease was due to a narrowing of the surplus in the goods account and a depletion of that in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income.

Germany’s current account posted a surplus of €29.6 billion in June 2023, up €21.4 billion on the previous month’s level. This was because invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, switched to a surplus, and there was a larger surplus on the goods account. 

In the first half of 2023, the Bundesbank withdrew approximately 26,700 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of just under €2.9 million from circulation in Germany. This was 10% more counterfeit banknotes than in the second half of 2022. The number of counterfeit €200 and €500 banknotes rose in particular. “The incidence of counterfeit banknotes is still low, however. Statistically speaking, there were six counterfeit banknotes per 10,000 inhabitants,” stated Burkhard Balz, the Bundesbank Executive Board member responsible for cash management.

In the first quarter of 2023, households’ financial assets grew by €146 billion, standing at €7,393 billion at the quarter’s end. Following the declines in the first three quarters of 2022, the financial assets appear to be following the upward trend of the fourth quarter of 2022.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €8.9 billion in May 2023, down €13.4 billion on the previous month’s level. This was because invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, switched to a deficit. The surplus in the goods account remained virtually unchanged.

After adjustment for special factors in 2021, the consolidation process in the German banking sector, which has been going on for many years now, continued in 2022. Over the course of the year, the overall number of credit institutions fell by 61 (160 in the previous year) to 1,458.

The Deutsche Bundesbank calculates the basic rate of interest in pursuant to statutory requirements and publishes its current level in the Federal

In April 2023, Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €21.8 billion, down €8.7 billion on the previous month’s level. This was mainly attributable to a smaller goods account surplus. The surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, remained practically unchanged.

A secure communication channel designed to protect financial data against future threats from quantum computers has been successfully established by the BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre and its Eurosystem partners, Banque de France and Deutsche Bundesbank.

The Bundesbank is recalibrating its plans for the renovation of its Central Office in Frankfurt am Main.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €32.4 billion in March 2023, up €9.9 billion on the previous month’s level. This was chiefly attributable to a larger goods account surplus. In addition, the surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, rose. 

The Bundesbank’s Bank Lending Survey has found that for the third successive time, there was a strong decline in demand for loans to households for house purchase. BLS respondents in the first quarter of 2023 said this was mainly due to increased interest rates, sentiment in the housing market and reduced consumer confidence.

At the end of 2021, Germany’s primary outward foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks were up 8% on the year at €1,506 billion. Stocks of FDI in Germany show a different picture. A decline was recorded for the first time in a long period, with stocks down 2% to €852 billion. At €169 billion, German FDI flows abroad proved robust for 2022, despite being down slightly on the exceptionally high level of the previous year. By contrast, FDI flows from abroad to Germany almost halved to €44 billion.

After three quarters of decline, households’ financial assets grew in the fourth quarter of 2022, standing at €7,254 billion at the end of the year. Households’ claims increased by a total of €68 billion. Following three quarters of significant valuation losses, valuation gains were recorded again, amounting to €43 billion in total.

The German current account recorded a surplus of €22.6 billion in February 2023, up €5.6 billion on the previous month’s level. 

General government debt in Germany as defined by the Maastricht Treaty increased by €71 billion in 2022 to €2.57 trillion. Debt rose at a slower rate than in previous years, with lower needs from the coronavirus pandemic as it came to an end being counteracted by new burdens arising from the energy crisis. Central government debt grew by €97 billion, but state government debt fell markedly. The debt ratio, meaning the ratio of debt to nominal gross domestic product, fell by 2.9 percentage points to 66.4%.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €16.2 billion in January 2023, down €9.4 billion on the previous month’s level. 

Professor Joachim Wuermeling has notified the Executive Board that he wishes to take up a new position in 2024 and will therefore be leaving the Bundesbank at the end of the year, some months before the end of his term of office. Against this background, and alongside further organisational adjustments, the Executive Board of the Bundesbank has adopted a reallocation of responsibilities that will come into effect on 1 April 2023.

The monetary policy turnaround shaped the Bundesbank’s balance sheet last year. The profit and loss account for 2022 reported a distributable profit of zero. This result was achieved by tapping €1 billion worth of risk provisions. As in the previous years, no profit was transferred to the Federal budget. “The Bundesbank sustained exceptional financial burdens in 2022,” Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel explained with regard to the annual accounts.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €24.3 billion in December 2022, up €6.9 billion on the previous month’s level. While the surplus in the goods account actually decreased, the surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, experienced a considerably stronger increase.

The German banks tightened their credit standards for loans to enterprises, loans to households for house purchase as well as consumer credit and other lending in the fourth quarter of 2022. Credit terms and conditions were also made more restrictive in all three loan categories.

In 2022, the Bundesbank registered approximately 44,100 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €2.7 million in German payments. The number of counterfeits was thus up by 5.2% on the year.

In the third quarter of 2022, households’ financial assets shrank for the third time in a row owing to persistent valuation losses. A phase of negative growth in financial assets lasting longer than this was last seen during the global financial crisis.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €16.9 billion in November 2022, up €11.2 billion on the previous month’s level. This was caused by the larger surplus in the goods account and the shift to a surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income.

The Deutsche Bundesbank calculates the basic rate of interest pursuant to the German Civil Code and publishes its current level in the Federal Gazette.

Despite the energy crisis, the Deutsche Bundesbank expects that the German economy will not experience a severe downturn in the winter. “While economic output is likely to contract initially, we expect that the economy will gradually recover from the second half of 2023 onwards,” said Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel upon the release of its latest projections. However, the energy crisis will boost inflation in Germany. “Inflation is high and will decline only gradually,” Nagel explained.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €5.9 billion in October 2022, almost half of the previous month’s result.

The macro-financial environment has deteriorated substantially over the course of 2022. It has been shaped by subdued growth prospects, high inflation as well as rising interest rates and risk premia.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €14.8 billion in September 2022 and was thus up again significantly on the narrow result of €0.9 billion in the previous month.