Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann sees the development of local bond markets in African countries as an important step in improving the financing conditions for investment. "Domestic debt markets are the primary way to raise private funds for investment," explained Mr Weidmann at a G20 conference in Berlin.

According to the Bundesbank’s latest economic projection, German gross domestic product will rise more steeply than previously expected up to and including 2019. This is partly attributable to the brisk recovery in global trade.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has reaffirmed his critical stance towards current monetary policy, saying in Berlin that it is still appropriate for monetary policy to be in accommodative mode given the subdued price pressures, but it is nonetheless legitimate to ask when the ECB Governing Council should set its sights on normalising monetary policy.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has reaffirmed his critical stance towards current monetary policy, saying in Berlin that it is still appropriate for monetary policy to be in accommodative mode given the subdued price pressures, but it is nonetheless legitimate to ask when the ECB Governing Council should set its sights on normalising monetary policy.

Bundesbank President Weidmann has again pointed out the risks associated with government bond purchases in the Eurosystem. In a speech to students and lecturers, he argued that they blurred the boundary between monetary and fiscal policy. The zero interest rate environment provided perceptible relief for highly indebted states, he explained, warning that “[y]ou don’t need to be a "nattering nabob of negativism" to fear that there may be political pressure on the ECB’s Governing Board to postpone any normalisation of monetary policy out of concern for public finances.” .

The Bundesbank celebrated the 30th anniversary of its Representative Office in the Japanese capital on 22 May. At a reception with 150 invited guests, Bundesbank Executive Board member Andreas Dombret and the Governor of the Bank of Japan, Haruhiko Kuroda, acknowledged the value of the close and personal cooperation.

Robust economic growth in Germany is set to continue, the Bundesbank’s experts write in the current Monthly Report, as indicated by the favourable order situation in industry and construction as well as the positive sentiment in the German economy and among households.

Growing numbers of consumers in Germany are using electronic payment methods, says Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann.

At a celebratory event to mark the 60th anniversary of the Bundesbank, Executive Board member Andreas Dombret highlighted the German central bank's regional ties. Malu Dreyer, the Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, was among the guests at the Bundesbank's Regional Office in Mainz.

The Bundesbank has launched its special exhibition "Guardian of the currency – 60 years of the Bundesbank in the eyes of the media". At the opening ceremony, Otmar Issing, formerly chief economist at the Bundesbank and the European Central Bank, discussed the role and tasks of central bank communications with representatives from the German media.