Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann feels that the introduction of central bank digital currency (CBDC) needs careful consideration. The various risks suggest that a prudent design and cautious approach would be essential, he said at the Bundesbank’s virtual autumn conference. CBDC is not necessarily needed to provide the general public with quick, secure and cheap payment methods.

In 2019, the trend towards cashless payments picked up. Even prior to the coronavirus pandemic, payments with debit cards (often issued in the form of "girocards" in Germany) gained ground in particular. Their usage increased by 20% on the year, with the cards being used ever more frequently for smaller transactions.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann says the government acted swiftly and comprehensively in the coronavirus crisis. But finding a way out of crisis mode will be equally important. The crisis is forcing economic and fiscal policymakers to perform a tricky balancing act – supporting the economy in the short term, but not obstructing the necessary change or losing sight of the longer-term challenges.

The Heads of State or Government of the EU countries have agreed to set up an off-budget entity to help address the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Writing in the latest edition of the Monthly Report, the Bundesbank’s economists note that while solidarity is understandable, it is worrying that the financial assistance will be funded by large-scale and long-term Community debt.

From 10 September, the €5 collectors’ coin “Subpolar zone” and the €10 collectors’ coin “Ashore” are available at the branches of the Bundesbank.

The coronavirus pandemic caused a historic decline in economic output in Germany, writes the Bundesbank in its most recent Monthly Report. Both the depth and speed of the crash were unprecedented. At present, however, the economy is on a recovery path and is expected to grow steeply in the third quarter.

The second quarter of 2020 saw 56.25% of the German banks taking part in the Bank Lending Survey (BLS) report brisker demand for loans to enterprises. Never since the BLS was launched in 2003 have so many respondents reported an increase in demand for loans of this type.

The Bundesbank’s TARGET2 balance has been growing again significantly since March. It exceeded the €1 trillion mark in July. This renewed increase over the past few months can largely be put down to the expansion of the Eurosystem’s purchase programmes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first half of 2020, the Bundesbank recorded approximately 34,000 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €1.6 million. Although this means that the number of counterfeits rose significantly on the year, their volume remained low overall.

“What advanced economies need is not more finance, but better finance.” That was Andreas Dombret’s bottom line during his term of eight years in the executive board of the German central bank, spanning between 2010 and 2018. It is just one quote from one of the 47 speeches in this volume.