The detailed results of the foreign direct investment stock statistics for 2010 to 2013 are now available for the first time based on the new calculation method, which was implemented as part of the harmonisation measures in accordance with the new OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). This has resulted in a significant reduction in FDI stocks.

The financial and sovereign debt crisis which has afflicted the euro area for more than seven years now has clearly left a mark on the financial market, having forced monetary policymakers to roll out highly accommodative measures and legislators to make adjustments to the regulatory framework.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, the financial assets of households rose by just over €69 billion (ie 1.4%) on the quarter, climbing to a figure of €5,072 billion. Together with the transaction-related acquisition of financial assets which totalled just over €40.5 billion, valuation gains in the amount of around €28.5 billion contributed to this increase in assets.

German credit institutions only marginally adjusted their lending policies in all three surveyed lines of business in the first quarter of 2015.

According to provisional calculations, general government debt in Germany as defined in the Maastricht Treaty amounted to approximately €2.168 trillion at the end of 2014. The debt level thus increased by €2 billion on the year. Owing to nominal GDP growth, the debt ratio, ie the level of debt in relation to gross domestic product (GDP), decreased by 2.4 percentage points to 74.7%. 

The Deutsche Bundesbank has launched its own app for smartphones and tablets, which is available for download free of charge. This new app provides users with the latest news on Bundesbank publications, matters of interest and key dates, all in one convenient location. With the app, the Bundesbank is expanding its range of information for mobile devices.

The German economy was buoyant during the first three months of the year. The Bundesbank economists, writing in the latest Monthly Report, expect economic output to remain on a marked upward trajectory in the second quarter. Another topic they discuss is what needs to be done to strengthen the regulatory framework underpinning European monetary union.