The July 2020 Monthly Report looks at the German current account surplus through the lens of macroeconomic models and examines the extent to which German households store cash, as well as their reasons for doing so.

Estimates by the Bundesbank suggest that banknotes worth around €268 billion were in circulation in Germany in 2018. Of that amount, roughly 20% was used directly for transactions. The other, far larger share – somewhere in the region of €200 billion – was being hoarded, i.e. stored for an extended period of time by households and firms.

Climate change is one of the most significant structural force shaping the global economy. Its impact will be substantial and diverse, affecting all economic agents and sectors across the globe. This report compiled by the NGFS group of experts on monetary policy and climate change investigates the possible effects of climate change on the conduct of monetary policy.

Climate change, and our response to it, will have a significant impact on economic and financial systems. The impacts will be far-reaching in breadth and in magnitude; subject to tipping points and irreversible changes; and are uncertain yet at the same time totally foreseeable. In particular, while we do not know now exactly what physical and transition risks will materialise, we do know for sure that we will face some combination of those risks. And, crucially, we also know that the size and balance of these future financial risks and economic costs will depend on the actions we take today.