The upswing in the global economy is gaining momentum, believes Bundesbank Executive Board member Andreas Dombret. In the run-up to the Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund, he argued for taking advantage of favourable economic conditions to increase the growth potential of national economies through structural reforms.

German external assets grew by a net €231 billion in 2016, closing the year at €1,709 billion. This increase was chiefly attributable to net capital exports, which were primarily a reflection of last year’s current account surplus.

As in previous years, the Bundesbank will be taking part in this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, which will be held from 11 to 15 October. The Bundesbank is organising a programme for children, coin collectors and banknote buffs, and this year, there will be something for film fans, too. You will find the Bundesbank stand in Hall 3.1 (C49).

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has been appointed to sit on an international board for the promotion of financial literacy among young people in Europe.

The profitability of German banks declined in their core business areas in 2016, as the latest Monthly Report points out in an analysis of the annual financial statements of German credit institutions. Earnings from interest and commission business fell by €5.4 billion to €120.9 billion last year.

In the latest Monthly Report, the Bundesbank’s payment specialists look at distributed ledger technology (DLT).

The final wave of migration to the European securities settlement platform TARGET2-Securities (T2S) has been successfully completed. Nearly all European securities settlements are now being conducted through T2S.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann believes that the Governing Council of the European Central Bank should make sure that it does not miss the right time for monetary policy normalisation. Speaking in Frankfurt, he noted that monetary conditions would continue to support economic activity for a long time to come.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has called on the euro-area countries to embrace fiscal prudence, arguing in a speech in Hamburg that the tighter the fiscal space, the more central banks will come under political pressure to stabilise economic activity in the short run – even if that does mean compromising on price stability.

The low interest rates are imposing a heavy burden on the 1,555 small and medium-sized credit institutions operating in Germany. This is the finding of a recent survey conducted by the Bundesbank and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). Even so, many banks and savings banks are taking countermeasures, for example by raising fees.