Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann today kicked off Germany's G20 presidency in Berlin. In their remarks, each underlined the importance of open markets for the global economy.

The leading industrial nations and emerging market economies, or G20, meet on a regular basis to hold informal discussions on current challenges facing the global economy and to consult on ways in which they can cooperate.

Since its inception, the G20 has dedicated itself to addressing the challenges facing the stability of the international monetary and financial system. Central banks like the Bundesbank play an important role in this.

Germany's G20 presidency will be particularly focused on the following topics: strengthening the resilience of national economies, shaping digitalisation and promoting investment, particularly in Africa.

The German economy lost some of its momentum in the third quarter of 2016. According to the Bundesbank’s Monthly Report, the domestic economy drove growth but was unable to make up for the fall in exports. The Bundesbank’s economists are nevertheless optimistic about the final quarter of 2016.

Bundesbank Executive Board member Andreas Dombret has outlined demands ahead of the forthcoming negotiations on new rules for the regulation of banks. He has said that he will advocate, among other things, that banks should keep the internal models they use to calculate their risks.

In its recently unveiled Financial Stability Review 2016, the Bundesbank states that it sees potential risks to the stability of the German financial system in the persistently low interest rates and muted global economic growth.

Bundesbank Executive Board member Carl-Ludwig Thiele has outlined the advantages and drawbacks of blockchain technology in a speech, stating that the basic version of this technology must be adapted to financial transaction conditions if it is to be used in the financial sector.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has urged a timely exit from the ultra-accommodative monetary policy. In a speech delivered in Berlin, he stressed that sovereign asset purchases should not shift the red line representing the border to monetary financing of governments.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann believes that particular caution should be exercised when applying unconventional monetary policy measures. Speaking at the European Banking Congress in Frankfurt am Main, he noted that they "come with a different risk-reward calculus than standard instruments as they have more harmful side effects."