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.